The Prophet's Destiny
by LaneIA
Summary: Alternative storyline. Agent Rachel Willons has been kidnapped by Arner Stone and Colby is going under cover to try and rescue her.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimers: Numb3rs is owned by CBS, et al. I own nothing other than the elements/characters of the story that I have written. The original story Nine Wives is the property of the above mentioned, however I have taken the cult and the idea and changed it to my liking. I am making no money from this and it is only for our entertainment.

Summary: Alternative storyline. Agent Rachel Willons has been kidnapped by Arner Stone and Colby is going under cover to try and rescue her.

Author notes: I am fitting Larry's space trip into my timeline, even though he would probably be coming back. If someone can supply me with the cult's actual name I'd appreciate it. It was something like the Apoplectics Saints. Help is appreciated.

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December 2006

The ringing of the phone finally cut through the concentration induced fog that surrounded the curly-headed man's brain. Blinking his eyes and shaking his head to clear the formulaic numbers that had been whizzing and whirling around in his mind, he reached for the phone. Papers and other documents were strewn over his desk. A lunch that Amita had dropped by for him remained uneaten. The math problem on the chalkboards had taken his undivided attention for the last several days. Between classes and the occasional case helping Don, he found that his free time was often spent working on this equation.

"Hello." He answered still slightly distracted by the problem. "Oh, hello Dr. Howe." He sat up straighter and gave his complete attention to the call. "Fine thank you. Letter? Ummm." Charlie began to quickly shuffle through the stack of unopened mail lying upon his desk. Finding a thick envelope with a Yale return address, he turned his attention back to the phone. "Yes, I did receive your letter. I haven't had time to look it over yet." He paused, knowing his answers seemed weak.

Listening to the man on the other end of the line, he opened the letter and scanned it. "Well, that's very generous of you Dr. Howe. I was very fascinated by your last paper on Invariant Theory." They spoke for several more minutes, discussing their theories. Shortly the subject of the letter was brought up again. "So this would be for two weeks during March that you're on Spring Recess?" Charlie flipped his own calendar open. "An intensive graduate seminar on my theories? You flatter me. Well yes, I realize that it would be more meaningful having the theorist actually teaching it. Would it be alright if I get back to you, say the beginning of the week?"

Smiling, Charlie bid the other professor good-bye and hung up. Since Larry had departed for his advanced training for his impending space trip, Charlie had felt out of sorts. Maybe a two-week break teaching graduate students would be just the thing to break up the time that Larry would be gone. Springtime in New Haven, Connecticut might be nice. It would certainly be a change of scenery.

Grabbing the light jacket from the back of his chair, he exited his office snapping off the lights. If he was in luck he could find Amita and grab an early dinner. He really wanted to run this by her and see what she thought. If things went well, maybe she would even be able to accompany him.

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March 2007

"Did you pack everything you own?"

"Ha, ha. Look if you don't want to help me just go back downstairs. I'm sure Dad would be more than happy to let you entertain him." Charlie turned back to the dresser and grabbed several more pair of socks. Dumping them into the open suitcase he looked over at his older brother with a smirk. "Besides, I understand if it's too much for you. After being out so late with Liz, I'm sure you're exhausted."

Don laughed sarcastically, "Nice try. Is that why you need my help? Exhaustion? Dad happened to mention that you and Amita were out rather late, or more appropriately out early."

"I thought since we won't see each other for a couple of weeks, I should make sure my last night here should be with her." Charlie blushed slightly. Even though he and Amita made no secret of their dating, he still wasn't used to the feelings he was experiencing or with his brother's good-natured teasing.

"Too bad that she wasn't able to go with you." Don moved to the suitcase and helped Charlie close the zipper, the top bulging as they shut it.

"Yeah," Charlie spoke ruefully. "She really didn't think she should miss her cousin's wedding." He lifted the bag off the bed and sat it next to the four other bags near the door. "She promised to call me every night though."

"Is there anything else or can I start carrying these down?" Don picked up a bag and tested the weight.

"There are several things by the door downstairs. My computer stuff and files."

"I'll start loading. I'd hate to run lights and siren to get you to the airport on time." Don headed down with the first load.

Charlie took another quick look in the bathroom and his room, checking to make sure nothing was being left. Grabbing a bag he headed downstairs to say good-bye to his father.

After receiving a hug and the standard fatherly advice from Alan; be careful and have fun, the brothers climbed into the vehicle and pulled out of the drive. During the drive to the airport Charlie reminded Don of the list of things that he would want Don and Alan to attend to.

"Relax Charlie. You act like we are a couple of kids that don't know how to behave ourselves while our parents are gone," Don teased. "I'll make sure that Dad doesn't have any wild parties and that Millie doesn't try to spend the night."

"My God. You don't think that he would do that do you?" Charlie turned to look at his brother, horror dawning in his eyes.

Seeing his brother's concern, Don decided to stretch it as far as he could. "Possibly. I mean he is over 21and single. Come on Charlie. He's an adult male and she's an adult female. You don't think they are just going to sit around and talk about building bridges and math. Maybe a little strip poker."

"I just don't like the idea of him throwing himself into a relationship with her." Charlie was a little huffy. "Besides the mental picture of him and Millie is killing me."

"Ahhhh, thanks. I hadn't even though of that." Don shook his head. "I'll do my best to keep them apart."

"Thanks." Charlie looked at the signs as they exited towards the airport. "I need the United terminal."

"Alright. Is Amita still meeting us there?"

Charlie nodded, "Yes, she should be here already."

Don merged to the right and pulled up to the drop off lane by the terminal. He hopped out and helped Charlie unload his luggage. Confirming the gate number, Don left to park the vehicle and Charlie found a skycap to help with the bags.

Meeting back inside, Charlie had already checked his luggage and was standing with Amita. The physical closeness of the two spoke volumes about their relationship. Don smiled as he approached. He was happy for his baby brother; those two were good for one another.

Greeting the dark-haired beauty, the trio stood talking until it was time for Charlie to pass through security. Don offered to use his badge to get himself and Amita through so they could accompany Charlie to the gate, but Charlie declined. "I know both of you need to get to work. After all, not everyone gets to play hooky for a couple of weeks."

Laughing and pulling his brother into a quick hug, Don replied. "Not everyone considers teaching math for two weeks a vacation."

"I guess not. I'll call Dad when I get there." Charlie turned to Amita and pulled her into a close hug. Releasing her slightly he gave her a brief kiss. I'll call you as soon as I land." Saying goodbye again, he then started towards the screeners. Turning back to face his brother and girlfriend he called to Don. "Call me if something comes up and you need me."

"Charlie, you'll be on the other side of the country." Don shook his head in mock disbelief. "Besides, I know another mathematician. Plus, she's better looking than you." He pulled Amita into his arms jokingly.

Amita laughed at the expression on Charlie's face. "Don't worry. I'll never take your place Charlie." She gently removed herself from Don's light grasp. "Besides, I can only handle one Eppes at a time."

Smiling, Charlie looked at them. "Remember that. I'll see you in a couple of weeks." A final wave and he was ready to go through the metal detector. A large, beefy looking woman stood with her wand at the ready. Charlie sighed as he subjected himself to the cursory screening.

Don and Amita stood watching until Charlie was out of sight. Turning to Don, Amita smiled, "Did he take everything he owned? I've never seen one man with so much luggage."

"I guess geniuses don't travel light." Don pulled his keys from his pocket. "I better get going if I'm going to get to the office before the team. Megan likes to rub it in if I'm late." The two prepared to go their separate ways, "Call if you need anything Amita."

"Thanks. Between the wedding and work, I'm afraid I won't have much time to miss Charlie. Besides, if he were here for the wedding he would want to rearrange the seating for the optimal traffic patterns. Sometimes our genius thinks too much!"

Still laughing to himself over the thought of Charlie fussing over chair placement, Don climbed into his SUV and headed back towards work.

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The blonde moved quickly to the kitchen and checked on the pot of coffee brewing. She had shut off her alarm and had drifted back asleep only to wake up 15 minutes later in a panic. Hurrying through her shower and morning ritual, she was not going to forgo her normal coffee.

Although she wasn't working an active case, there was enough paperwork from her last one to keep her busy for most of the day. Plus, if she were able to finish it she would be able to work a while on her pet project; the polygamy cult ran by Arner Stone.

Pouring a steaming cup of coffee, she paused briefly and her thoughts went back to her childhood. Her parents had been stereotypical flower children and in their quest for harmony and peace, they had taken up with Stone's father. Levi Stone, leading the group founded by his father, had preached against the tyranny of the government and the idea of a communal society that would be a large, self-providing family. It was when she had turned six that the Prophet Levi had noticed her. He spoke to her parents about God's message that she was destined to be his wife and help strengthen the family.

Soon after, her family left the church. Sneaking away in the middle of the night and traveling for several days and nights until they reached her Grandmother's home; a woman she had never met. The Prophet had forbid contact with the nonbelievers and the reunion was one of joy. They eventually moved to Illinois and blended back into normal society. Even so, the memories of the "family" stayed with her.

After graduating from the University of Illinois with a degree in Criminal Justice, Rachel moved to California and pursued a career with the California Bureau of Investigation. The cult was currently operating in several western states, including California and with her position she was able to keep an eye on any new reports concerning them. Twenty-eight and still single, many of her co-workers joked that she was married to her job. There was even some speculation that she was "playing" for the other team. The gossip didn't really bother her; she knew that once she had accomplished her goal of putting an end to Stone's group she would feel comfortable finding a man to settle down with. But as long as Stone was out there and recruiting more people into his twisted religion, there were women and children that needed protecting.

Shaking herself out of her daydreaming, Rachel filled her travel mug and shut off the coffee maker. Grabbing her bag and the cup, she opened her door. The warm California morning air caressed her as she turned to lock the door behind her. The last thing she remembered was a pair of strong arms and a voice, "Welcome back sister."

Author's note: The real action begins in the next chapter; I had to get the story set first. Please review and let me know. This is my first Numb3rs fiction. Thanks.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's notes: Same disclaimer as posted in the first chapter. Please don't expect this type of updates often. I had two sick children and had to stay at home to care for them. So during naptime I've had the time to write. I do have the whole story mapped out, so it is just a matter of putting the flesh on it. Enjoy! Also please review as it helps me know if you are enjoying it or let me know if I've made grievous errors with canon. Please remember though that this is an alternative storyline for the Nine Wives episode. It feels like there is a lot to set up before we get to the slam-bang action, but it's coming. I promise!

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The first sensation she became aware of was the feeling of being bounced all around. She opened her eyes and for a moment had to bite back a feeling of panic when she saw nothing. It was only a moment later when she processed the feeling of the blindfold around her eyes. Closing her eyes again, she tried to steady her breathing; willing herself to calm down. Having accounted for her lack of vision, she remained as motionless as she could, waiting for a sound or anything that might help her assess her situation. The continual bouncing and motion told her that she was in a vehicle and the way they were going was very rough. Her hands were bound in front of her and a gag filled her mouth. Moving her feet very slowly she could feel the rope around her ankles. It would appear that she would not be going anywhere for the time being.

Thinking back she could remember filling her coffee cup and heading out the door. That was her last memory. Nothing else.

The chirp of a cell phone sounded close to her. She could hear someone shifting near her. "Hello. Yes sir, we've got her." There was a pause. "We are about two hours out right now. We stopped and filled up and grabbed a quick bite to eat." The man paused again.

The voice was unfamiliar to her. Nothing was jumping out at her, no accent and no information that would help her pinpoint the identity of her captors.

"One of us stayed in the van, she was still unconscious. I understand. Yes Prophet."

The phone snapped shut. A cold fear shot through her. Prophet. Some how she was in the hands of a follower.

A different voice spoke up. "What did the Prophet want?"

The man spoke again. "He wanted to know how soon until we got to the New City."

"I suppose he was angry that we stopped for food."

"His concern is that of the woman. She is the chosen one."

Rachel felt paralyzed. She was going to be handed over to the Prophet as his newest wife.

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Don had been setting at his desk for the last three hours trying to put down on paper what he anticipated spending on his department for the next year. There were so many aspects of his job that he enjoyed, but the budgeting process was not one of them. It really didn't seem fair. His brother was so good with numbers and he was so bad with them. Of course he thought ruefully, this was a different application than what his brother did. But numbers are numbers.

Deciding that an early lunch might be the answer, Don had just stood when his cell phone began to ring. Not recognizing the number he opened it and spoke briskly. "Eppes."

Five minutes later he emerged from his office and motioned for Megan to join him. Moving to David and Colby's cubicles, he waited for her. The two men looked up as they saw their boss approach.

David stretched his long legs and glanced at his watch. "Early lunch Don?"

Megan entered and sat on the corner of Colby's desk. Colby pushed lightly at her, "Reeve's you're going to wrinkle my report."

Snorting lightly, Megan shifted slightly. "Give it a rest Granger. When has neatness ever been your concern."

Looking somewhat distracted, Don returned his gaze to his agents. "Huh? Um, no. Pay attention, we've got a new case."

All playfulness subsided and Don saw he had the attention of all of them. "I just had a call from the California State division. Seems one of their agents didn't report to work today and when they sent someone by to check things out they found her purse and coffee mug on the ground by her backdoor. They want our assistance on the matter. They think it might be tied to a drug bust she was on last month."

The group grabbed what supplies they thought they would need and headed to the vehicles. David and Colby rode together, leaving Megan with Don.

The ride was short as the noonday traffic was manageable. When they reached the scene, they split up and began to collect information from the others already there.

Don introduced himself to the older gentleman who supervised the state's criminal investigation unit. "Hello, I'm Don Eppes. I'm surprised the CBI called us."

"I'm Ralph Wilson. Rachel Willons is a member of my Investigative Support Team. She had been part of a team that along with your people managed to bust a major drug ring in Orange County last month. We think that this might be connected. Possibly an attempt to take out witnesses or maybe a prisoner swap; at this point we just don't know."

Digesting the information Don nodded his head. "OK, we'll give you a hand and see what we can come up with. Full cooperation right?" Implying that occasionally the two agencies didn't always work well together.

"Anything to get Rachel back. She's a damn fine agent and I wouldn't want to loose her."

At the same time the others had attached themselves to other members of the investigation team. Megan was with an agent who was questioning the next-door neighbor who had seen a blue van parked on the street earlier in the morning. David was with the forensic team who were currently fingerprinting the door and combing the backdoor area for clues. Colby had drawn the partner.

"So did Rachel have any enemies?" Colby had his pen poised to write a list.

A disgusted snort made him look up. "Any good agent will have a list of people that want to see them dead." Tom Burke, the partner for the last two years was leaning back on his car's hood.

Realizing that he should have worded his request differently, Colby leveled his gaze at the man. "OK, did Rachel have any enemies that have made recent threats?"

Shaking his head angrily, Tom's voice was hard. "No damn it. That's what's got me frustrated. I haven't a clue who might have done this."

"So, you and Rachel have been partners long?"

"Almost two years. We've logged more hours together than most married people."

"Partners can get too close sometimes." Colby tried to approach the question gently. "Are you and Rachel together?"

"What?" The question seemed to hit the agent unaware. "Hell no. Not that Rachel isn't beautiful, but I've been married for six years and I have two kids."

"Forgive me for saying so, but that doesn't always ensure fidelity."

"Well, that's not the case. I'm close with Rachel, but only like partners. Plus, I was in a meeting all morning with a prosecutor working on a case. I came over as soon as Ralph called me. " He ran a hand through his short blonde hair. "I'm probably the only one who Rachel really opens up to. At work she is really focused. A lot of jokes about being married to her work. You know how things go on stake outs. You talk a lot about things."

"So what did Rachel talk about?" Colby was relieved to see the other agent had calmed.

"Normal things, who she was dating, family, work."

"Who was she dating?"

"No one at the moment. She had been with a guy named Richard. Oh, it must have been after we were partnered up. He was a supervisor with Gateway Computers, but he got transferred and they split up. She was ok with it."

"How about the rest? Work and family."

"Family is in the Midwest, I think Illinois or Iowa. Kind of interesting story. The family was part of a some crazy religion commune when she was a kid. The folks got out of it though. She spends a lot of her free time researching the group. I know she talks with Tracy in the Sexual Assault task force about it."

"Anything else?" Colby had several leads he planned on following up on.

"No, but if I think of anything I'll call you right away."

"Thanks." Colby stuck out his hand, "Sorry."

"It's alright. I understand." The agent pushed off the car and walked over to where some other agents had gathered.

Finding David, Colby inquired about the preliminary results. Shaking his head, the older agent looked frustrated. "Doesn't look like they left so much as a spare print. Of course criminals are getting smarter ever since CSI came on tv. Everyone knows all about the forensics."

"That's the truth. I've got a couple of possible leads, but nothing sounds promising. Old boyfriend, freaky family and hundreds of angry criminals. Her partner seems clear. He was in a meeting."

"What you got boys?" Megan breezed over, flipping her notebook open to share information.

"A growling stomach." Colby said somewhat jokingly. It was now well past lunch time and the burly agent was feeling hungry.

"Poor baby." Megan crooned. "I might have a granola bar in my purse. How about you David or can you put your personal complaints aside for a case." Megan shot Colby a look.

"Hey! I didn't say I wasn't working. Just that I'm hungry." Colby defended himself. "So what did you get?"

"Luckily Rachel lives next to a snoopy neighbor. She noticed a blue van parked across the street earlier in the morning. She was walking her dog and saw one man sitting behind the wheel. She thought it was a Jehovah's Witness. He was wearing a white shirt and a tie. I guess his haircut wasn't uptown enough for her to think he was a stockbroker or something. She didn't look at the plates though."

Colby opened his notebook. "Her partner mentioned something about the family was part of a religious group when she was a kid. Why don't I start by checking out that angle?"

"Alright. David would you like to help me run traffic cameras around this area and see if we can find a blue van?" Megan turned hopefully to her co-worker.

"Sure, but I'm with Colby, lets drive through someplace on the way back to the office."

Colby gave his partner the thumbs up, "Reeves, starvation might be part of your game plan, but we need sustenance to produce results."

"Sustenance? My, my Granger. Have you been reading the word of the day calendar again." Megan laughed and moved towards where Don was standing by the vehicles.

"Cold, real cold. Remember I do have a college degree. They even taught us to count." Colby joked.

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The agents headed back to their office, after a pit stop to pick up fast food. In the vehicle Colby tore into a side of fries. "You know. I think she likes me."

David, who was driving, gave a sideways glance at his partner. "Who? The girl from McDonalds?"

"No Reeves." He stuffed another fry into his mouth.

Laughing, David concentrated on the road. "You've got to be kidding? She's dating Larry."

"Yeah, but you see how she teases me. Sure sign that she likes me."

"Ok Colby. That stops after junior high." David reached for some of the fries.

Evading the reaching fingers of his friend, Colby selected another fry. "You are so out of touch with women my friend. That's the reason why you haven't had the courage to ask out Claudia Gomez yet."

"Granger, you talk too much." David grabbed several fries and maneuvered through the traffic.

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The vehicle was slowing. She hoped that when they stopped they would remove the bonds around her legs and the blindfold. Then she might be able to make a break for it. If not, she would need to rethink her plan. One thing for sure, she wasn't going to end up the Prophet's wife.

The van stopped and one of the men, the one setting next to her spoke. "Alright sister, time to rise and shine." He untied the rope and pulled off the blindfold. He gently pulled her from the van. Rachel's idea of running was out the window as she realized that her legs were not going to support her. Two men helped propel her into the nearby building. Taking a quick look at her surroundings, her heart sunk. They were out in the woods. There appeared to be no signs of civilization other than the six rustic buildings scattered around the clearing. Women averted their eyes when the group walked by, children however were braver; sneaking peeks.

The door opened and she was ushered inside. At the front of the room sat a fat bearded man. His greedy eyes raked up and down Rachel's body. Standing up, the group proceeded to him. He raised his hand towards heaven and spoke in a loud voice. "Praise the Lord. He has seen fit to deliver unto his servant a bride."

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The team worked into the evening and when they had done as much as they could they went home. The next morning saw a break in the case. A license plate number on a van matching the description of the van outside Rachel Willons home was traced to a car dealer north of Los Angeles. The man in question was affiliated with a church run by Arner Stone. The same man that Colby's contact in Sexual Assault had mentioned. It seems that Rachel had been collecting any evidence that might be used to build a case against the church. After speaking to Rachel's family, the possibility was looking much more like this was tied to the church.

Grouping together in the bullpen, the agents speculated on the likelihood of abduction by the church. The circumstantial evidence seemed to be mounting.

"The problem is we don't have enough to go in with a warrant." David looked at a copy of the photo showing the blue van.

Megan agreed, "If there was some way to get someone inside to talk to us."

From his spot near the screen, Colby shook his head. "According to Tracy, that probably won't happen. The women in this group are terrified of going against their men. I doubt if we would find a man willing to talk either."

"How about we send someone in. I could go in and try to find out if any of the women have seen anything." Megan volunteered.

Don, who had been looking out the window, turned back to the group. "It won't work Megan. They would never believe a woman just coming into the group. They might take to a male however. I could go in with a wire."

"Sorry Don, but that wouldn't work either." Colby spoke up.

"How come?" Don looked at his youngest agent.

"No offense, but you don't fit their profile. The majority of the followers are a little less cosmopolitan."

"Cosmopolitan?" Don's expression was one of confusion.

"Their members are mainly rural people. Not much education and suspicious of authority. Sorry to say, you just look like a government agent."

"I agree." Megan cut in. "You look too polished Don. I think Granger here would be a better choice. That "oh shucks" country boy look he has and with the way he talks, he could fit in."

Scowling slightly, Colby turned to Megan, "Thanks I'm glad that you're such a supporter of my abilities."

"I see your point." Don pulled his phone out. "Ok, lets run with this. Colby, get yourself outfitted and I want you making contact with the car dealer before the end of the day. Megan and David, put together the support team we will need." Don walked out of the bullpen talking to his boss to put the plan into motion.

Smiling sweetly at Megan, Colby leaned over. "I can tell that this cult is really messed up. Imagine these guys wanting more than one woman. Maybe if you had went undercover you could have shown them the error of their ways."

"Cute Granger. A group of sexist men. I'm sure you'll fit in just fine."


	3. Chapter 3

Author's notes: Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoy/tolerate it. You know if you hit that review button you could tell me yourself. Anyway, my knowledge of California and any other location is only what I can find on the internet. So, I've made things fit to what I want in my story. So, if you like in Crestline, CA and you don't recognize your town, sorry.

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It was amazing how quickly the wheels were put into motion. A complete cover-story was developed for Colby to begin memorizing. He would be Micah Williams, a young man from Bonners Ferry, Idaho. According to the available information, a small group of believers were located there and a contact name was available. The plan was for Colby to be in and out again before anyone would have much of a chance to check on his story. It was also decided that it would be too dangerous and difficult to put a wire on Colby. The young agent would need to rely on his own instincts and get out as quickly as possible with the information. Don and the other agents would be waiting in the near by town, ready to pick him up when called.

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In the mean time, David and Don had decided to pick up the car dealer, Stanley Hampton, and bring him in for questioning. The hope was that they could extract information from him that would allow them to either find Rachel or at least give Colby more information to work with. The plan would be to hold him on charges of kidnapping, since the van could be tied to the abduction of Rachel Willons. Traveling to the city of Crestline, they entered the car dealership and requested to speak with Hampton. Hustling him out quickly, they transported him to the local police department and began questioning him.

The man proved to be a wealth of information, but very little of what they could use. Though continual questioning they were able to determine that the approximate location of Stone's flock in Crestline. Leaving the man to sit and stew for a while, David and Don stepped out into the hall to discuss how they planned to continue.

"I'll have another agent come in and continue interrogating him. Until he lawyers up we won't have to formally charge him. If we play are cards right we should be able to hold him until Monday. That gives Colby two days to get in before this guy is turned out." Don rubbed the back of his neck. It had been a long two days.

"How long before they put it together that good old Stan isn't being held in questioning for tampering with odometers?" David questioned. The men had made sure that when bringing the man in they had spoke loudly about the reason for his questioning being associated with the dealership.

"Long enough I hope. We'll have Colby inquire at the dealership, looking for Stanley because he was told that Stanley would help him make a new start in this location."

"It sounds pretty shaky at best." David voiced his concern for his partner's safety.

"Best we've got at this time. Let's head to the motel and wait for Megan and Colby to get here."

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It was just after lunch and Megan was down loading satellite maps of the area when Colby walked in wearing his cover clothes. The white shirt was fastened around his muscular neck and a simple black tie stood in stark contrast. Running a finger around the neckband, he tried to stretch it to be more comfortable. He looked down and noticed that Megan was watching him with a smile on her face.

"It's a good look for you Granger. If you don't make it as a crazy polygamist you could try moonlighting as an encyclopedia salesman." Megan looked back down at the maps and slid them towards Colby. "It looks like they are probably located at one of these acreages around the lake area. According to the county treasurer, quiet a few of them are owned by men that are members of the church. It sounds like Stone is highly paranoid and keeps on the move. He could be at any of these locations or he might have moved on already."

Picking up the map, Colby looked at the areas marked in red. Tracing his finger along the marked road, he tapped at a spot. "I'd pick one of these two places. With the road ending in a dead-end you wouldn't have to worry about nosey neighbors."

"Well, you can think about it on your trip to Crestline." Megan tossed him a set of keys on a worn key chain. "Your car is parked out front. We got you a Buick Skylark."

"Great," Colby's voice displayed his displeasure. "A POS."

The look on Megan's face said it all. "POS ?"

"Piece of shit." Colby sighed. "Hopefully the radio works."

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Twenty-five minutes later Colby was headed towards Crestline. The radio did work, but the blown speaker gave a buzzing static that obscured the music. Colby turned it off, preferring the quiet over the irritating buzzing.

The silence allowed Colby to run through his "history". As Micah, he was an unemployed mechanic who had only recently returned to the church. His family had been church members and were pleased that their son had returned to the fold. By coming to California, Micah was hoping to find a wife and start his own family. He had talked with Don and they had decided that Micah would show up at the car dealership looking for Stanley, claiming to have been sent by a church member from his home in Idaho.

It was late afternoon when he pulled into the car dealership. A balding man approached the car before Colby had a chance to exit. "Can I help you?" The man's tone was friendly but an underlying current of suspicion was evident.

"I sure hope so." Colby extended his hand and gave his best aw-shucks smile, making sure that his country upbringing tinged his speech patterns. "I'm Micah Williams and I'm from Bonners Ferry, Idaho. I'm looking for Stanley Hampton. "

The other man shook Colby's hand. "I'm Andrew Ross, I work for Mr. Hampton, but he's unavailable right now. Can I do anything for you?"

"Matthew Freeman told me to look up Mr. Hampton and that he should be able to introduce me to a church member that might have a place for me to stay."

Looking Colby over, the other man hesitated. "Just a moment, let me go and check on something." He turned and walked back to the office building. Another man who had been observing from a distance joined him and both went inside.

Trying to look around as nonchalantly as possible, Colby scanned for any clues that might help him locate Rachel. He was too good of an agent to be overly nervous about his cover story. It would hold up to the type of inquiry that could be done over the telephone at the end of the week. It was several minutes later that the balding man exited the building. Making his way over to Colby, he appeared much more relaxed.

"Sorry about that." The older man replied.

'I bet pal', Colby thought. "No problem. I'm sorry I got here so late. I had car problems this morning and it took me a while to get it running again. I realize that pulling into a new town on a Friday afternoon wasn't good planning."

"Well, those things happen. I spoke with one of the elders and he said that they would be able to put you up for a while. I have to go out to his place for a meeting tonight, so you can ride with me."

"I wouldn't want to put you out, I can just follow you in my car." Colby didn't like the idea of being stranded without a vehicle. Plus he had planned on calling Don to fill him in.

"No problem, besides that will give us the opportunity to talk a little bit. I like to get to know the new arrivals. Grab your bag and we'll get going."

Knowing that protesting more would be considered suspicious, he went to his car and grabbed the battered bag stuffed with clothing. The two men walked over to a late model SUV and Colby stowed his bag in the back. Climbing in and putting on his seatbelt he was glad that his cell phone would allow the team to get a reading on where he was headed.

The thirty-minute trip took them through the rural countryside and as they approached a lake it became more heavily wooded. Ross had kept up a steady stream of question during the ride. Even though his tone had been friendly, Colby knew that the man was trying to extract as much information as he could. 'No problem', Colby told himself. What things his FBI cover-story had not included, he took details from his own life.

"Not too much further," Ross commented.

"Pretty country up here." Colby replied. "When I made the decision to move I wanted to find someplace that reminded me of home."

"So what are your plans Micah?"

Colby smiled slightly, as if a little embarrassed. "Well, I hope to find a wife. When I was away from the church I dated some women and I realized that they had no idea how to be a proper wife. They wanted to tell me what to do." He let irritation creep into his voice. "They were to caught up in the desires of the beast. I tried to tell them that earthly items would do them no good when they ultimately would stand before God and would have to explain why they had disregarded his word." He looked down at his hands, aware of Ross glancing at him. "That's when I knew I need to come back to the church and help with spreading God's plan for man."

Ross sighed, "I know what you mean. I see these young girls made up like whores walking around, tempting men. It was Eve's sin that pushed man from the garden. Hopefully the Prophet's teachings will gain more support and we can start making some changes."

They pulled into a tree-lined driveway that let them away from the rutted country road they had been following. It was at least a mile from the road before the house came into sight. Colby was surprised to see that it appeared to be more than just a one house. Several outbuildings looked more like dormitories. He could see what appeared to be a large garden towards the back of the clearing and several women were working with hoes. A group of children played on a battered swing set. Several women looked up when they heard the car pulling in and upon recognizing it, they lowered their eyes.

"Welcome to my house Micah." Ross smiled.

"Yours?" Colby was a little surprised.

"I live in the main house. We have three other families living here too." He pulled up next to the house where several other vehicles were parked. "The other two places out here belong to other church members, so there are at least 50 of us. We are hoping to continue to grow in this area. The Prophet Stone has given us his blessing."

Colby was not surprised to see that one of the vehicles was a van matching the description of the one used in the kidnapping. "I remember meeting the Prophet when I was a little boy."

Ross smiled. "It has been hard for him. There as so many families over such distance that it is difficult for him to keep in touch like he would prefer. We are so honored that he has chosen our community for this special occasion."

Colby was instantly alert. Keeping his voice as neutral as possible, he questioned the man. "Special occasion?"

"Yes, the Prophet has brought the woman who will be his newest wife here."

'Bingo!' Colby smiled slightly. Things were going according to plan. "That does sound like an honor."

Shutting off the vehicle, Ross opened his door and stepped out. "Grab your bag and I'll show you to a room."

Grabbing his bag, Colby followed behind and deposited it on the bed in the small room he was shown. Thanking his host, Colby was then shown where the restrooms and the large dinning room where meals were held.

"We will break bread at 6:00 pm, until then let me introduce you to one of the other young men. He can show you around some more. "Eli, come here please." A large hulking man approached. His blonde hair was longer, like many of the other males. "This is Micah." Colby shook hands. "Please show him around for me. I'll see you both at supper."

Ross left the building and headed across towards the large house. Eli looked at Colby with the same suspicion a new kid on the playground would garner. "Where you from?" Eli questioned.

"Northern Idaho, a small town called Bonners Ferry. How about you?"

"From here. You just met my father." Eli led Colby outside and started showing him the different buildings.

"I really appreciate him bringing me out here. I'm hoping to find a job here and maybe settle down." He noticed one small shed that was set apart from the other buildings. "What's that over there?"

Eli turned and frowned at Colby. "That is none of your concern and if you know what's good for you stay away from there." Turning on his heel he moved back towards the garden area.

Colby took one last look at the shed and turned to follow. As he went to catch up with Eli, he saw a young girl struggling with a large basket of vegetables. His natural instincts kicked in and he hurried over to help her with it. "Here let me help you with that." He took the basket from her.

She turned her face towards Colby and the agent realized she was little more than a child. The large doe shaped eyes were filled with fear. She shook her head furiously, finding her voice. "Please, no. I have it."

Colby could see the protruding bump under her dress and knew that she was pregnant. "It's alright, let me help."

She shrunk back, her eyes looking past Colby. He turned and could see the hulking Eli had turned around, his anger evident on his face. "Naomi! What are you doing?"

"Nothing Eli." Her eyes were downcast. "He grabbed the basket from me. I swear." A note of panic crept into her voice.

Colby quickly realized his mistake. "Sorry. I thought she was going to drop it and ruin the tomatoes."

"Naomi, get your basket and get to the kitchen." Eli's voice was low and menacing.

The woman reached for the basket and quickly made her way towards the building. Eli turned to Colby and scowled at him. "I guess in Idaho they don't teach you to not interfere with another man's wife."

The thought of Eli and the young girl was enough to make Colby's blood boil. However he suppressed his own disgust and tried to look apologetic. "Sorry. I didn't realize."

Looking at Colby, Eli replied. "If you want to fit in around here you better watch yourself." He turned and headed in the same direction as his wife.

Colby turned and looked quickly at the lone building. He would wait until night and try to discover what might be in there.

Author's note: Button, lower left, click on it quick!

I


	4. Chapter 4

Author's notes: The sickness that kept my child home earlier in the week now has me in it's grips. Hence, two chapter today because I have felt like doing nothing more that writing. So appreciate it while you can get it.

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Colby tried to keep a low profile until supper. As the women scurried around preparing the meal, older children set the long tables in the dining room with plates and silverware. A group of younger men gathered and Colby moved over to them and introduced his self.

A few minutes before six the outer doors opened and a group of older men entered. Among them was a man that Colby recognized from the FBI photographs; Arner Stone. Stone stopped and shook hands with some of the men as he made his way to the table. As if by an unspoken command, everyone moved to the tables. The children at their own tables to the back, the men up front. The women Colby noticed were all still standing by the kitchen. Andrew Ross, the man who had brought Colby, nodded to Arner.

Standing up, Andrew Ross gave a short prayer and then launched into what Colby thought amounted to a bible lesson. Being careful not to let his impatience show, Colby glanced as his watch. The lesson had now been going on for over 45 minutes. Suddenly everyone around him started to bow their heads, Colby followed suit and about 5 minutes later Ross gave a solemn amen. He sat down and Stone began to rise.

The prophet stood up and spread out his arms. "Brothers and sisters, let us pray. Dear Lord, we give thanks for the food we are about to receive in your holy name. Let is nourish us in both body and spirit as we go forth to do your work. Fortify us as we prepare to smite thy enemies, for they are many oh Lord. The trials and tribulations you send to us are many, but with your strength and your word we go to battle willingly. For you have shown to me the path to enlightenment, the road to glory. By taking up your sword we will cast out the unbelievers and prepare them for the great revelation. We give thanks to you great God, for delivering to us your vessel, which will hold the riches of heaven. For Jesus Christ said unto them, let the little children come to me. The glories of your word manifests itself in our most precious gifts to you. A great cleansing has begun and in six days your plan will begin. We pray in your holy name. Amen.

The prophet sat back down and began to fill his plate as the women served the tables of men. Colby ran over the words of the prophet's prayer. It has been long and somewhat rambling. Something was going to happen in six days, not that he would be around for that. A bowl of green beans was passed to him. Spooning some onto his plate he looked around the room. Many of the women were visibly pregnant, most like Naomi, looked very young. He remembered the information that Megan had collected included that the men were not only polygamist, but tried to have as many children as possible with their extra wives. The plan was to put a hardship on the Federal government by collecting as much welfare as possible.

The men's tables were all served and the women had started serving the children's tables. Colby decided that with everyone eating, this might be a good time to slip out. Speaking quietly to the man next to him, Colby inquired about where the nearest bathroom was. The likable fellow was glad to point it out. Excusing himself, Colby walked out the door seemingly unnoticed. The first thing he did was go in and use the bathroom, incase someone did follow him out. After finishing he left the room and quickly scanned to see if anyone was in the hallway.

Seeing no one he pushed open the outer door quietly. Keeping to the side of the building and out of the light, Colby moved towards the smaller building. He was almost clear of the building when a door opened and a darkened form stepped out. It was Naomi and she was carrying a tray with a plate on it. Stepping back into shadows, Colby watched her walk to the building in question. Flipping open a latch, she opened the door and stepped in. Moments later, she was on her way back to the kitchen. Seeing his opportunity, Colby waited until the door had shut and ran the distance to the building. He opened the door and stepped in, hoping that waiting on the other side was Rachel Willons.

Stepping inside, the dim interior was lit with a small kerosene lamp. It through shadows around the room. Sitting in a chair looking forlornly at the plain meal in front of her was Rachel Willons.

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David turned to Don and raised his eyebrows questioningly. Don shook his head and David turned back to the window. Colby had phoned in at around 3 pm when he was approaching the dealership. Since then they had heard nothing. It was now after 7 and they had no idea what has going on. According to Megan, the Skylark that Colby had driven to Crestline was still sitting at the dealership, even though 15 minutes ago the lights had been shut off and the last worker had locked the door.

Megan decided to make another swing past the dealership and see if anything was happening. Feigning interest in the used cars, she slowly made her way to where Colby's car stood. Talking quietly into her mic, she relayed her findings. "Guys, the car is still here, but I don't see his back anywhere. He must have ridden with them. We can run a trace on his cell phone and let the GPS tell us where he is."

Don spoke back to the female agent. "OK Megan, come on back to the hotel. Why don't you stop and grab some food and drinks though. I told Colby that I would give him 12 hours to get in touch with us, so he still has time. I don't think we need to jump the gun just yet."

"Alright Don." Megan turned and walked back down the busy commercial street. Keeping a wary eye out for anything unusual.

David looked at Don and commented, "I'm still getting a funny feeling about our boy not giving us a call."

"Chances are someone was with him and he couldn't. We'll give him until the deadline and if we don't hear anything, we'll go in. The reports say that this group doesn't usually resort to violence. It's not like the Branch Davidians."

Shaking his head David spoke, "Lets hope so, for Colby's sake. Why is it the religious groups are always the nuts?"

"I don't know. Maybe God likes to keep things interesting." Don turned back to the report he was reading.

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Having someone returning to the building had not happened before, so Rachel was not prepared for the muscular young man that stepped in and shut the door behind him quickly.

"Rachel Willons?" His voice was low and urgent. The woman looked like the photo he had seen, but it was better to be sure.

"Who wants to know?" She cast a wary eye towards the door, not sure what to do. In the twenty-four plus hours that she had been a captive, she had been knocked out, tied-up and held prisoner. Her future didn't look any better according to what Stone had told her.

"I don't have time to play games, are you Rachel Willons?" The man looked at the door as if he were expecting someone to enter.

"Yes, but who are you?" Rachel stood up and faced this intruder.

"Colby Granger, FBI. What do you say we get out of here?"

"How did you get here?" Rachel's mind turned over the possibilities.

"Undercover, which hasn't been broken yet." He opened the door and not seeing anyone about, he motioned her to follow him. "Come on."

They both exited the building, Colby stopping to lock it back up. The evening shadows had now lengthened to almost full dark. Knowing that their best bet would be to find a car with keys left inside, they made their way towards the front of the big house.

From their position they couldn't see the cars. Colby turned back to whisper to Rachel. "I'll go up and check the cars. Once I whistle, come running. We won't have much time. If something happens run. The town is to the west."

Moving off into a crouching run, Colby made his way to the first car. Before he could open the door the area was flooded with light from the front of the garage. Stepping out from behind a car, Eli and five other men were illuminated.

"What are you up to Micah?" Eli moved closer, the other five fanning out, trying to surround Colby. "Naomi told me she saw you outside. You didn't come back in and so we decided to come looking for you."

"Sorry. I decided that it would be best if I went back to town. I feel if I'm putting you folks out." Colby knew the story sounded as weak to their ears as it did to his. "So if you'll just lend me a car, I'll be on my way." Colby decided by talking he was giving Rachel more time to make her own escape.

Eli came from around the car and approached Colby. "I don't think you've experienced the Prophet's hospitality to the fullest yet. Has he guys." A murmur of agreement came from the men.

Colby took his eyes from Eli briefly to assess the other men when a fist suddenly shot out and collided with his chin. Shaking it off, he blocked another aimed at his head, reaching out and catching the other man on the side of the head. The other men swarmed around him, cutting off his escape. Deciding to try the offensive, Colby landed a solid blow to the other man's midsection. Eli doubled over with an oomph. Colby moved in for another punch, but Eli recovered faster than he expected. Eli snapped back up and landed several more blows to Colby's face.

Staggering backwards, trying to regain his footing, Colby felt himself being grabbed by other arms. He struggled, but the other men had the advantage. Eli smiled, blood running from a scratch by his forehead. Walking up to Colby he aimed a big hammy fist into the agent's stomach. The air rushed from him as the other man punched him again and again.

A muffled scream sounded to the rear and drew the attention of the men. Two more men approached with a struggling Rachel in their grasp. A third man followed, bent over and nursing the pain in his groin. The men holding Colby turned slightly. Colby, sensing the release in pressure tried to break free. Eli laughed. "Easy there tiger. I'll give you another chance at me." Walking closer to Colby, Eli grabbed Colby's hair and pulled his head up. "Who the hell are you?"

His lip was split and bleeding freely down his face and one eye was starting to swell shut, but his other eye glared at Eli. "I'm Micah Williams."

Smiling evilly, Eli shook his head. "I don't think so." He pulled Colby's head back further. "Care to try again."

"Fuck you." Colby knew no more. Eli's fist rendered the man unconscious. Letting him slip to the ground, Eli placed several kicks to the prone man's body.

Rachel started screaming, "Stop it! Stop please you'll kill him."

Eli turned to look at the chosen bride of his leader. "Who is this man?" He demanded.

"I don't know. He came over and let me out. He told me he was Micah and he wanted me to go with him." Rachel looked down at the bloody and battered agent.

"Eli, what is happening?" The group turned as Arner Stone and others made their way towards the scene.

"Your bride tried to escape and that new guy was trying to help her." Eli took a step away from Rachel and wiped at his own bleeding face.

"What did you learn from him? I'm assuming he wasn't helping her by laying on the ground." The sarcasm was thick in the Prophet's voice.

"Same thing we knew about him before. Said his name was Micah Williams. He was trying to get away, so I had to incapacitate him."

"Check his pockets and see if you can find out who he really is."

One of the other men bent over and pulled the wallet from Colby's black pants. "Idaho license says he's Micah Williams. He's got a cell phone too." The man held onto the items, shoving them into his own pocket.

The Prophet turned and looked at Matthew. "It would appear brother Freeman that you have brought a viper into the nest. Thankfully your son was able to prevent a grievous mistake from occurring."

"I'm sorry Prophet, everything seemed to check out." Matthew looked worried.

"I think it would be wise if I were to put some distance between myself and this area. I will take my intended and also this interloper. I have a feeling there is more to Micah Williams than meets the eye. He might prove a valuable bargain tool or if he becomes too much of a liability he can disappear just as easily somewhere else. I want to leave in ten minutes."

Everyone jumped to obey as the men that accompanied the Prophet everywhere hurried to pack bags. Rachel's hands were bound in front of her and she was loaded into the back of a SUV, the windows were tinted so there was no hope of catching a passerby's attention. She grimaced, as a still unconscious Colby was placed none to gently beside her in the seat. The men used zip ties to secure his hands and feet. The flow of blood had slowed from his lip and the cuts dotting his face. Using her hands she tried to move him into a more comfortable position. Not that it would probably matter; the punishment he had taken would be very painful.

Soon they were pulling onto the road and heading for God knew where. Rachel thought ruefully as she looked at the agent. 'You were going to save me, but who's going to save you?'

Author's note: Come on, do it. Slide the mouse ever so gently to the left and left click. I know you can!


	5. Chapter 5

Author's notes: Wow! What a long week! Parent-teacher conferences on Monday and the rest of the week was filled with the rush that accompanies the mid-term. Combine a mini writer's block and no Valentine's present from the husband, and you get a writer with no motivation. Still waiting for the husband to make amends. I got him a little gift! Want to make me feel better? Review please!

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The black SUV made its way along the bumpy county road and then turned onto the smoothness of the paved highway. They traveled to the east; finally reaching a small airstrip that serviced private owners. Several calls that had been placed before they had left the enclave of church members had resulted in having a small turpo prop plane waiting for them. The prophet and his four followers/bodyguards exited the vehicle and made sure that only the pilot was around. While Stone talked with the pilot and laid out the travel plans, the other men transferred Rachel and Colby into the plane.

It was thirty minutes later that the ground lights came on and the plane took to the sky.

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Day light was only a faint promise in the eastern sky. Don and the others were getting ready to make their move upon the houses outside of Crestline, one of which would hopefully contain both agents.

It had been a sleepless night for the team. David and Megan had slept fitfully off and on, while Don had stoically sat, waiting for a call from Colby.

They all now sat in Don's vehicle, waiting for the others to get into position. David turned and looked at the stress-lined face of his boss. "Lets hope everyone understood during the briefing that Colby is there undercover."

"I just hope he's got everything under control."

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The plane had been in the air for ten minutes when Rachel noticed Colby beginning to stir. Leaning over she whispered to him, "Micah, Stone has us on a plane." She hoped that by using his cover name he would not give himself away. "Micah? Can you hear me?"

Colby's return to consciousness was slow; he could hear the woman mumbling next to him. Was it Megan? He couldn't remember. He tried to open his eyes, but could only force one of them to open slightly. He turned his head in the direction of the voice and a blonde woman came into view. Not Megan. Who? The woman as if sensing his confusion started to speak to him again.

"Micah," she stressed the name again. "The Prophet Stone has us on a plane." Whispering, "Your cover is secure."

He closed his eye again and tried to sort out the jumbled thoughts. Micah? Prophet Stone? Visions of crouching low and running for a car came back to him. Opening the eye again he looked at the woman again. "Rachel?"

She smiled and nodded. "I was worried. You've been out for a while."

Tentatively moistening his slip lip, Colby asked. "How long?"

"At least an hour. How are you feeling?"

"Like hell." His head throbbed and the rest of his body responded with complaints as well.

"How we doing back here." An oily sounding voice sounded above them.

Slowly raising his head higher he could see Arner Stone leaning over the seat. His smile was that of the cat eyeing the canary.

"I thought I heard some voices, so I decided I would check on the both of you." Stone continued. "You have caused us some concern. I'd sure like to know who you are boy."

Meeting Stone's eyes, Colby started in with his cover story. "I'm Micah Williams and I'm from"

Stone interrupted him, "I know what you've told them, but I'm asking you who you are? You obviously were sent to try and rescue Rachel. Not that she needs any help. She's getting ready to receive a real honor."

"Honor?" Rachel spit. "You call being taken from my home by force and held against my will an honor? She shook her head incredulously.

Reaching over and stroking her face, Stone's hand then continued it's way downward. Rachel squirmed in her seat. "Yes, I do. Many women would sacrifice much to be in your position."

Colby struggled against his bonds, "Leave her alone!"

Finding amusement with Colby's attempts at freeing himself, the Prophet leaned closer and lowered his voice. "I'll be enjoying her young flesh soon enough. It will surely be a feast to remember."

Lunging forward Colby slammed his head into Stone's face. The Prophet roared in pain and stumbled backwards, his hands going up to his nose. Two of the henchmen seated the closest, turned to see what was going on. Blood flowed from between the fingers that cradled his nose. Colby's face was bleeding again as well; a cut by his eye that had congealed had opened up.

His voice somewhat muffled, Stone snarled. "You will pay for that. Mark my words, you will beg for mercy before God's throne."

"I have no worries about God, it's those that twist his word I worry about. Let you without sin cast the first stone. "

"The devil quotes scripture as well." Stone spun back around to the front of the plane and returned to his seat; the other men offering napkins and handkerchiefs to help with the bloodied nose.

Rachel leaned in and grabbed Colby's bound hands with her own. "Getting yourself killed won't do either of us any good."

"Sorry. I've got impulsive tendencies." He gave her a slightly lopsided grin.

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The sun was now well past the horizon. The sweep of the compound had not turned up either agent. Don's frustration was growing as a more detailed search was started. David was working with other agents to look for any clues to the whereabouts of them. Megan was interviewing the members.

"Can you tell me if you saw either one of these people here?" Megan laid photos of Colby and Rachel on the table. The older woman looked at the photographs, her lips thinned as they were pressed together. "No. I want to go now. I'm not going to answer any questions and I know you can't detain me."

Knowing that the woman was right, Megan sighed and waved her on. The next woman shown in looked very young and very pregnant. She sat down and looked down at her hands. The hands spoke of her nervousness, they twisted and knotted.

"Hi, I'm Megan Reeves." Megan made sure to make the tone of her voice as reassuring as possible. "Can you tell me yours?"

After a long pause, a whisper reply followed. "Naomi Ross."

Recognizing the last name, Megan tried to engage the girl. "Are you Andrew Ross's daughter?"

A head shake was the only reply. Megan tried again. "Are you his wife?" She tried to keep any indication of disgust out of her voice.

"I'm married to Eli."

Megan couldn't help herself. "How old are you Naomi?"

The head dipped lower, a look of shame crossing the girl's face. "Fourteen."

_'My god she's just a baby_,' thought Megan. Deciding that after they had found Rachel and Colby she would help this girl, Megan turned continued with a calm tone. "Naomi, I really need your help. Have you seen this woman?" Megan gently slid the photo of Rachel over. Watching the girl's reaction was all she needed. Waiting, Megan hoped that Naomi would be forthcoming with information.

"Yes, she has been here. The Prophet was having her go through a purification ritual before they were to be married."

"How about this man?" The photo of Colby followed.

"Yes. He came in yesterday."

"Can you tell me where they are now?" Megan soothingly asked.

"I don't know. There was trouble last night."

"Trouble? What happened?" Megan watched the girl closely.

Tapping at the photo, the girl spoke softly. "Micah tried to take Rachel. The men caught them trying to take a car and there was a fight."

"And then?" Megan prompted.

"They put them in a car and they left. I heard someone mention an airport." Rachel appeared to be relaxing.

Shouting was suddenly heard from the hallway and the door burst open. Rushing inside, Eli glared at the girl, "Naomi, you get up and come with me!"

Shrinking back in her chair, the girl slowly stood up, keeping a wary eye on her husband.

Megan jumped up and put herself between the two, "Get out of this room." She waited as the agents from outside hustled into the room and grabbed his arms.

"Damn it Naomi. You better keep your mouth shut if you know what's good for you. He was shoved from the room by two agents.

The damage was already done. Naomi refused to answer any more of Megan's questions. Megan indicated to an agent for the girl to be escorted out of the room, asking for her to be kept away from her husband or any other male from the church.

Megan grabbed her notebook and went in search of Don. There couldn't be that many airports around and it hopefully would be easy to track where a plane would have gone.

The answer to that question was more complicated than she imagined. Two hours later they had narrowed it down to the private airport and possibly what type of plane had flown out late that night. The problem was that no flight plan had been filed and now they were at a dead-end.

Don ran a hand through his hair and turned to look at the other man. "David a plane doesn't just disappear. I want to know how far they could have gone and we'll need to check every airfield."

"Do you have any idea how many that could be?" David was just as frustrated. His partner was missing and the limited progress was madding. "Could Charlie help us narrow down our search?" Knowing that in the past Charlie had made quick work of overwhelming information, David hoped that Charlie could work the magic again.

"Charlie is out east. He's teaching a special seminar at Yale." Don knew he could call his brother and maybe they could send the information to him, but he hesitated. It was one thing to interrupt his brother when he was at Cal-Sci, but Yale was different. Spinning back around, he pulled out his phone. Accessing a number, he waited for the menu of options. Moments later he was speaking to a secretary. "May I speak to Dr. Amita Ramanujan?"


	6. Chapter 6

Author's Notes: Hope that you're still enjoying the story. Show your love by hitting that review button on the lower left!

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The plane was in the air again. The sun was just breaking the horizon when they had landed. The window shades had been pulled and both Rachel and Colby had been gagged to prevent them from calling out. Several of the men had left the plane while it was being refueled. They returned with bottled water, coffee, and a sack of breakfast sandwiches.

With their mouths gagged, Colby and Rachel could only exchange looks. The smell of the food made both of their stomachs rumble. Once back in the air the gags were removed and each was given a bottle of water. It was hard for Colby to not gulp it down. Telling himself that he needed to drink slowly, he made himself count to twenty between each drink. There was no telling when more might be given. He wasn't counting on receiving too much in the way of favors from the Prophet.

The drone of the motor and headache that still plagued him made sleep seem like a blissful escape. The eye that was not swollen shut fluttered and closed. Rachel saw his head bob slightly. Knowing that he most certainly had suffered a concussion, she was worried about his sleeping. She decided that she would give him a half an hour and then wake him.

The shades had been raised and looking out the window at the sun's position she could tell that they were flying north. The mountains below looked closer than she had ever seen them. They were flying much lower than a commercial airliner would. Rachel had listened to the conversations the best that she could. The only real information that she had been able to glean from the bits and pieces she heard was that they were headed for a church settlement in Montana.

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Once they had determined that Rachel and Colby were aboard a plane, each available agent began compiling the information that would aid in locating the destination and ultimately the missing agents.

Don had contacted Amita and had requested her aid. She had initially hesitated; worried that she would be unable to assist. "I'm not sure Don. I mean it's one thing to help Charlie and let him bounce ideas off me. But to be responsible for pinpointing the search, I'm afraid I'll make a mistake that could be…." She trailed off, not wanting to voice her worries. "You should use one of your own experts."

"Amita, Charlie has faith in you and so do I. Colby and the other agent need someone who can help us narrow our search. I don't want someone else, I trust you." Don's voice was firm.

She weighed his words. "Alright, can you get me the data down loaded to Cal-Sci's computers? I think once I have all the variables it shouldn't take me long to get you a list of possible targets."

"Thanks Amita. I'll have Megan start feeding the information." Don rang off and let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. Looking at his watch he hoped that time was in their favor.

Don walked into the office where Megan was helping to coordinate the search. "How's it going?"

Megan leaned back and rubbed her face, trying to erase the fatigue. "I've got people contacting every airport in a five hour radius going on the top mileage that the plane could have gotten. The big problem is that they could be short hopping. They are probably flying below the radar so that FAA won't be able to track them. It's going to be like finding a needle in a really big haystack. Plus, once we find where the plane landed we then have to find where they've went." Her voice cracked slightly as she thought about the difficult odds facing them.

Laying a supportive hand upon her shoulder, Don informed her of Amita's decision. "You'll need to start downloading the information to the computers at Cal-Sci."

"No problem. That will give me more time to keep interviewing some of the women. David is trying to get more information on other locations that have followers of the prophet. The problem is none of the men have said anything. He did mention that one of the men, Eli Ross has injuries consistent with fighting. David had a technician run some DNA swabs to see if we can tie him to the fight that Naomi Ross mentioned."

"Good. I'm going to talk with Andrew Ross again and see if I can get any more out of him." Don went to leave, giving on last squeeze on Megan's shoulder. "Don't worry, Colby's tough."

Megan smiled slightly, "I'm sure that Granger has them eating out of his hand."

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The plane hit a little turbulence. The sudden drop brought Rachel out of a light sleep. She hadn't realized she had nodded off. Looking over at Colby she noticed that his breathing seemed to be normal, so she decided to let him doze a while longer. They had cleared the mountains, the land beneath the plane was flattening out somewhat. She leaned over and nudged Colby awake.

Without opening his eye, Colby turned towards her and murmured quietly, "We there yet?"

"I think we might be getting close. I heard them mention Montana and we've crossed the mountains."

"Taking us out of state, this is really going to get them into trouble." Colby deadpanned. "Make a little more difficult to find us." He looked at her and gave her a tight smile.

"I'm not holding out a lot of hope for the good guys coming to the rescue. Unless the Prophet made some mistakes along the way. Most of his followers would rather die than divulge information." Rachel's voice was shaking.

"Hey, the people I work with, are some of the smartest agents in the FBI. Sometime I'll tell you about them." He cast his gaze towards the front of the plane. Seeing that no one seemed too worried about them, he continued. "We've got to have a plan ready to go when we get to where ever. Any ideas?"

"If I had a good plan I would have gotten away back in California."

"I think that the best we can do right now is cooperate. Hopefully they relax a little around us and we will get our chance to get away. We'll just need to wait for the best time."

"Not much of a plan." Rachel pushed her hair out of her eyes.

Colby leaned his head back and shut his eye again. "Right now, it's as good as it's going to get."


	7. Chapter 7

Author's notes: Since Iowa is usually overlooked in the National news it will probably be a surprise for some of you to hear that we were hit with the same freezing rain that many other states have face. Many areas are still without power, we missed several days of school. I had to rough it and the worst part was not having my computer! Even the good old dial up was looking good after several days of no access. We are back to "normal" now and here is the next chapter. Please review. I appreciate knowing if I'm reading the characters and getting their basic personalities. Of course we all see different sides of them and for the sake of the story we mold them into what suits our needs.

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Amita pushed the hair from her eyes. It had fallen forward, covering her eyes as she looked at the copies of documents before her. The amount of information had initially seemed overwhelming. However, after taking a few deep breathes and thinking to herself "What would Charlie do?", she had started organizing.

By running the collected information into the computer Amita hoped that by using data mining she would be able to pull the needed information. Then she would be able to make some predictions as to where the missing agents might be.

Even with the help of several agents it was going to take a while for the amount of data to be sifted. She was looking at the information from the FAA that showed radar appearances of unknown aircraft when her phone rang. Looking at the caller display she saw Charlie's name. "Hello Charlie."

"Hi Amita." Charlie's voice was cheerful. "I had a few minutes and I thought I would give my favorite mathematician a call."

Laughing lightly Amita retorted, "Ah so I've replace Galileo?"

"Certainly. It was well documented that Galileo didn't kiss very well."

"Charlie!" The smile on Amita's face spoke of her feelings for the curly-haired professor.

"Of course he did also have all that facial hair, which would look most unattractive upon you." Even though he had been gone only three days, he missed seeing her and partaking in their good-natured banter. "So how are things back home?"

Amita was unsure how much to tell Charlie. On one hand she would like someone to bounce her ideas off of, but on the other she was afraid he would decide to return to Los Angeles. Colby was someone Charlie considered as a friend and it stood to reason that Charlie would want to help. The idea of leaving Yale in a lurch bothered her. Something like that could blackball Charlie in any future guest teaching opportunities. Besides she knew that often the cases he worked for Don required him to withhold information, so she didn't feel too guilty about not giving him all the details.

She must have been struggling with her answer longer than she thought because she heard Charlie's voice in her ear. "Amita? Are you still there?"

"Yes, I am Charlie. Sorry about that. No, everything is good here." Now how to dance around the issue without giving him too much information? "I am helping Don out with something right now."

Charlie felt a pang of jealousy. 'Someone else is helping Don'. Shaking his head and telling himself how foolish and juvenile that sounded, Charlie continued. "What with?" He tried to make his voice seem nonchalant.

"Two missing persons." 'That's it' she thought, 'give him only scant details'. "They were taken by private plane and I'm running the possible airports and radar hits through to see if I can narrow down the field and make a predication."

"Sounds plausible. Have you taken into consideration the results of a k-fold cross validation model?"

"I hadn't decided which cross validation theory to run yet. Do you think k-fold will give better results than the holdout method?" Amita grabbed a sheet of paper and began to write.

"I think so. Remember, the cross-validation process is then repeated _K_ times, with each of the _K_ subsamples used exactly once as the validation data." Charlie had pulled out his own pad of paper and had started scribbling equations.

"I know. I'm thinking that through the data mining I should be able to identify the key target areas."

Charlie nodded, not even considering that the woman at the other end couldn't see him. "I think that's the best idea." He hesitated momentarily, "If you want me to look at your work, you could email it to me." He waited to see what her reaction was.

"I think I'm good right now. But thanks." Amita closed her eyes, picturing her boyfriend that was so far away. "I miss you. Have a good time, but not too good."

"Thanks. Tell everyone hello for me. Call me if you have any questions." Charlie closed his cell phone, it still felt a little strange knowing that Amita was working a case without him. 'I'm getting hooked.' Charlie thought to himself. Was his part-time work for the FBI becoming more important to him than his teaching?

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The plane was approaching its destination. Both Colby and Rachel could feel the plane begin to slow and drop altitude. Rachel took the opportunity to look out the window, trying to get a feel for where they might be landing. A small town was visible below the plane as it continued to slow for the approach to the airport.

Once the plan was safely on the ground, the men in the front of the plane made their way to the back. The Prophet smiled and looked at his captives. "It will be in your best interest to cooperate fully. My disciples are going to remove your bonds so that you can walk to the vehicle that is picking us up." He leveled his gaze at Colby, "I would hate for anything to happen to Rachel." His meaning was clear. The men donned light jackets and one was given to Rachel. "You'll have to excuse me for not having anything for you to wear. I wasn't planning on an extra passenger."

Colby gave the Prophet a withering look. "I don't mind. I could stop downtown and pick one up on my own." He was rewarded with a rough arm pulling him to his feet and pushed towards the door.

The sun was high in the sky when they climbed down from the plane. There was snow clumped in piles that were slowly melting in the sun. The temperature was in the mid-40's and the promise of spring was in the air. Rachel took a deep breath, the clean air filling her lungs. The disciples quickly ushered the agents to the waiting vehicle. Colby scanned the area as well as he could, trying to take in any information that might be beneficial to them later.

The vehicle was an older panel van. Once inside, Colby and Rachel were forced to the floor and remained there during the entire 45-minute drive. The last 15 minutes were spent following a rutted dirt road. Sitting on the floor in the back of the panel van made for a bone-jarring ride. Colby tried to brace himself the best he could to prevent his body from crushing Rachel against the side of the van, but the two captives were continually being thrown against each other.

The van pulled to a stop and the men exited the front of the vehicle. The back doors were opened and Rachel was helped from the vehicle. The two disciples waiting at the door motioned for Colby to exit. Colby pushed himself into a standing crouch and made his way to the door. He thought about the possibility of making a run for it, but Rachel was already being lead into one of the houses on the property. Looking around he noticed that in addition to several ranch style homes there was a large barn and several out buildings. One of the men grabbed his arm and steadied Colby as he jumped to the ground. Instantly a second man reached for his other arm and they began steering him towards the barn.

Colby decided to give his cover story another try and began speaking to the men. "Say guys, there's been a mistake. My name is Micah and I'm from." He got no further when he was cut off by one of the men turning quickly and landing a punch in Colby's already bruised midsection. Losing his air and doubling over, Colby was yanked on towards the barn.

Inside he was forced to sit and was tied to a large wooden post that connected upwards to the floor of the haymow. After making sure the ropes were tight, the men left, shutting the door behind him. Once the door had shut, Colby strained against his bonds. They were tight, but there did seem to be some wiggle room. He began to saw at the ropes, hoping that they would loosen. Before long he could feel the skin of his wrists chaffing and soon the trickle of warm blood. At least the blood might make it easier for him to free himself he thought.

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Inside the house, Rachel had been shown to a bathroom and was instructed to shower and change into the clothing that had been laid out. Colby had not been brought into the house. She reflected on where he might be as she showered and washed her hair. Rachel felt guilty as she stood beneath the hot water, the heat loosening her aching muscles. She stepped out of the shower feeling almost human again. Toweling her blonde hair, she looked at the clothing that they had given to her; a white cotton dress, under garments that did not come from Victoria's Secret and a pair of slip on shoes. The fact that she looked like some kind of down home bride did not escape her. In four days the cleaning period would be finished and she would be wed to the Prophet.

A knock on the door brought her out of her thoughts as a male voice inquired about her state of readiness. Opening the door, she exited the bathroom and was led to what appeared to be a home office.

Standing and smiling as she entered, Stone came from behind the desk to greet her. "You look much refreshed my darling. I am sorry about the rough accommodations of your trip here. Unfortunately that young man who forced his way into our fold has dictated an increased security concern." Taking Rachel's hands, Stone led her over to a small couch. "I know it's been years since you and your family have left the church, but I have seen the Almighty's plan. With your pureness of blood the church will continue and grow. It is your destiny to part of the Prophet's linage."

'_Never in your life'_ thought Rachel, but having already decided that appearing to follow Stone's plan would be the best game plan, she lowered her head. Speaking in a humble sounding voice, "If it is God's will, then who am I to question the methods?"

Stone was so caught up in his own delusions and his enthusiasm for having regained his newest bride that Rachel's compliance and embrace of the religion she had abandoned did not even register as suspicious. He was sure that she was sincere in her devotion to the church and to him. "Wonderful. We still have four days of cleansing. You are not to leave this house and only eat the food that is prepared for you. If you need anything please ask one of the women to help you. I will be gone tomorrow, but I will back for the end of the cleansing." Stone turned to one of the disciples who stood next to the office door. "Please show Sister Rachel to her room and lock her in for the evening." He turned back to Rachel and gave her a wolfish smile. "Only for your own safety you realize. In the morning you can feel free to explore the house. Someone will bring you some supper." After Rachel had left the room, Stone spoke to the remaining disciple. "Make sure our other guest is secure for the evening as well."

"Should I give him some food as well?" The other man asked.

Thinking for just a moment, Stone replied. "No, fasting is good for the soul. He might be more forthcoming with the truth if he is right with God."

Rachel followed the disciple to her room. It was small and sparsely furnished. Hearing the door shut and lock behind her, she immediately checked out the room. The only window was very small and set high on the wall. The bathroom held a sink, shower, and toilet. The medicine cabinet was empty. The closest thing she could find that could be used for a weapon was the wooden handle of the plunger that was setting beneath the sink. Looking at her reflection in the mirror, she whispered quietly to herself. "Colby, I hope you got a plan because I'm batting zero."

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The light that had been coming through the gaps in the barn boards had grown very dim. Night came quickly this time of the year. Colby still intermittently worked on the ropes that held him. His wrists were on fire, the skin raw and bleeding. The hope that it would make escaping easier had quickly diminished. His head slumped to his chest as he lightly dozed.

The creaking of the door opening caused Colby to snap awake. A weasely looking man wearing the typical garb of the disciples entered and checked the ropes holding Colby.

The man laughed when he saw that Colby had tried to get loose. "Don't like the accommodations here? I could have told you that it wouldn't do you no good to try and get out of these ropes. Thaddeus ties a mean knot, can't remember anyone ever getting loose from one of his."

Colby smirked, "Give him my regards then. I'd love to talk to him about his technique sometime."

"Still got some sass left in you." The man knelt and tugged on the ropes and Colby bit back a groan of pain. "We'll see how much fire you've got left in you in the morning."

"I suppose asking for something to eat is out of the question."

"Real perceptive aren't you." The disciple moved in front of Colby. "The Prophet thinks you need to get yourself right with the Lord. Fasting will cleanse you." Moving towards the door he looked over his shoulder and called out, "Sleep tight."

Colby tossed a withering look towards the retreating figure and muttered to himself, "I hope there's no bedbugs."


	8. Chapter 8

Author's notes: Another snowstorm, at least there wasn't as much ice this time. My thoughts and prayers go out to the people impacted by the tornados in the South. As a school teacher I watched the coverage from Alabama and cried. I do feel that they did the right thing, I think more kids would have been hurt/killed if they had been out of school. From experience I have seen kids who instead of going home when released for bad weather (always snow/ice. Our policy on tornados is the same, keep them together) go out driving around and disregard the intent of the release. Any way, here is the next chapter. Hope you enjoy it.

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Don, Megan and David had started back to LA that afternoon. Having done everything that they could in Crestline, they planned to coordinate the continued search from their home base. Don dropped David off at the office to work on looking into the Church's financial records and property holdings. Both Don and Megan hoped to assist Amita in her work. As they neared the Cal-Sci campus, Don drove through a restaurant to grab food for them.

"Knowing Amita, she didn't have lunch and she'll forget about supper as well." Don commented to Megan, who sat quietly, staring out the window. During the trip home she had spent much of her time on the phone tracking down possible leads, all of which had been dead-ends. Even in the large SUV, Don could feel her tension. "Amita will help us find the answer." He spoke to reassure the female agent.

"You know as well as I do Don that with each passing hour it becomes more unlikely we won't find them and if we do we won't find them alive." Megan's voice was somber.

Don felt his anger flare. "Damn it Megan." Don pulled the vehicle over and turned to face his friend. "When you were missing Colby never gave up hope that we would find you. I can't believe you would give up so easy."

Her face crumbled and tears started to flow. "I'm sorry Don." She wiped at her eyes. "It's just," she hesitated. "Oh, it's complicated."

"I'm here if you need to talk, but I've got to have your head in the game. This is too important and if I have someone who isn't focused I will need you to step aside."

Nodding her head, Megan answered. "Don't worry Don. It won't happen again."

"Megan, I wouldn't want a person on my team that doesn't care deeply for their teammate." Don paused a moment while Megan continued to regain her composure and then put the vehicle back in motion.

Minutes later they were parking in the lot close to the mathematics department. Carrying in the bags of hot food, they were not surprised to see Amita working at her computer. They entered without attracting the attention of the dark-haired woman. Watching her momentarily, both Megan and Don were taken by the similarities between Amita and Charlie in regards to their work style.

Leaning towards Megan, Don spoke softly. "Remind you of another genius?"

"Must a math thing." Megan laughed lightly.

Amita looked up and nodded a greeting to the two FBI agents. "I think I've got everything put in now." She slid back from her desk. "Now we just have to let the computers sift through the information."

"There's so much, how will it know which information to select." Megan sat down the bag of food and started setting out the take-out containers.

"It's kind of like at the bank with their coin counters. You dump a sack of mixed coins in and the machine sends each to the appropriate slot. This program is similar; it will send the variables that have a higher probability rate to our attention." Amita pushed the hair away from her face. "We can then use it to compare with any additional information your agents find."

Handing her a box, Megan opened her own. "How long will it take to run the program?"

Amita had opened the box and sniffed appreciatory. "We would be looking at possibly five hours." Taking a fork she lifted a bite to her mouth. "Mmmmm. This is delicious. I missed lunch."

Both Don and Megan exchanged a "told you so" look and grabbed their own meals. During the meal Amita questioned the two about what had transpired while they were in Crestline. She told Don about Charlie's call. "Do you think I should call him back and let him know that Colby is one of the missing?"

Don thought about it for a few moments. He took a drink from his soda and sat the can down and looked at the two women. "I think you did the right thing Amita. He wouldn't be able to do anything more for Colby than what you are already doing. There is no sense worrying him. What do you think Megan?"

"I agree. But you get to deal with him when he finds out later." She stood and started collecting the trash.

The chirping of his cell phone saved Don from replying. "Hi David. Amita has the program running the information we got to her. How goes it on your end?" He listened to the agent's update, nodding his head. "Sounds like you've got people looking into that, so I think we all should go home and try to get a good night's sleep. Plan on being in the office by 7:30." He paused, listening to the other man. "Yeah, I know, but we can't do him any good if we are not mentally and physically sharp. I'll see you in the morning."

He closed the phone and turned towards the others. "Amita, do you need help buttoning up anything here?" Don indicated to her office.

"No, I've got it all running. I'll take my laptop and I'll be able to access it from your office." Amita began to gather the items she needed.

"Alright, Megan lets go and I'll drop you by your place. That will save us the trip to the office."

They all left the office and waited for Amita to lock up. The last bits of light had faded from the horizon as they walked across the parking lot to their vehicles. Megan contemplated the cool night air and she hoped that Colby was safe.

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Funny how there were so many different types of cold. Growing up in Idaho Colby had spent plenty of time outside in the snow. Skiing with his brothers, the sun reflecting off the snow, it never felt cold. He had spent four years in the Midwest going to college on a wrestling scholarship. The snow there was usually wet and heavy. Being outside in a snowstorm meant you would be soaked to the bone and cold. Then there was the desert cold. The scorching daytime temperatures would drop and the cold would be so crisp; almost piercing. The cold Colby was currently experiencing seemed the worst, of course the fact that he was bound and unable to move added to the misery.

He pulled his legs up as far as he could to try and conserve his body heat. Laying his head on his knees he could feel the pull against his shoulders, he was just trading one hurt of another. He wondered how long it would be until morning.

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Rachel awoke to the sounds of people moving past her door. She had been sleeping fitfully throughout the night; waking every hour or so and slowly drifting back to sleep. It was the dreams that were plaguing her; most of them centered on the Prophet. Rachel had been keeping track of what information the FBI pulled in on the cult, hoping that someday she would have enough information to bring it crashing down. The stories of girls as young as 12 being "married" to men of the church, rapes done in the name of "procreation" and other crimes against women turned the agent's stomach. The problem with much of the information was that it was hearsay and therefore inadmissible in court. With the Church centered so firmly around the male members, few of the women or girls would ever dream of coming forth with charges. When charges would be filled, often the witness would disappear. She speculated many were simply moved to another Church stronghold and occasionally a more permanent solution.

The male voices were still audible; they must have stopped just past her door. Climbing out of the bed, Rachel moved to the door and listened closely.

"Stupid idea. Don't know what he was thinking."

"Good thing he was bragging to Sarah about what he had done or we would have had a dead body on our hands."

"Here's the key, just leave it in the deadbolt. It will save time finding who has the key."

"Alright. Come on and lets get him downstairs." A grunt of exertion was heard. "Heavier than he looks."

"Quit complaining and lets get him downstairs."

The voices faded and she could no longer hear them. From the conversation she had heard she felt she could safely assume that it was Colby that had been carried past her door. Looking at the wind-up clock ticking on the dresser she could see that it was only after 3 a.m., which meant it was now Sunday. Only three days left until her cleansing was done and she would be married to the Prophet.

Returning to her bed, she thought about several different scenarios. Eventually sleep reclaimed her and the dreams began again.

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Colby rolled to his side, muscles protesting loudly to be let alone. He vaguely remembered the disciples coming to the barn and removing the ropes that bound him. Being unable to stand, they carried him into a house and deposited him on the basement floor. A blanket was tossed down on him and he heard their footsteps climbing back up the steps. A door shut and the sound of a deadbolt being shot home told the agent that he wasn't going anywhere for a while.

It was much later that the shivering seemed to subside and he could again feel his fingers and toes. Knowing that rest was important to him being ready to take a chance when the opportunity presented itself, Colby wrapped tightly into the blanket and closed his eyes. Hopefully he would be left alone for a while.

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A light knock on the door roused the sleeping Rachel. A young woman informed her that breakfast would soon be ready and implored her to get up and changed. Donning the white outfit again it was soon that the door opened and the woman told her to come with her to get some breakfast. In the kitchen, several women were hurrying to get food put into bowls. Rachel was told to sit at a small table in the corner and an older woman brought her a bowl of oatmeal, toast and a glass of milk. Soon the other women left the room, leaving Rachel and the older woman alone. The woman brought over a similar meal for herself and began eating.

They ate in silence for a few minutes, the woman casting quick glances at Rachel. Finally she spoke. "So you're the Prophet's newest." It was spoken not so much as a question, but as a fact.

"Yes." Rachel decided to wait and see the direction that the other woman would take.

"I'm Naomi. I'm the wife of Michael. It was my daughter Mary that came and woke you." She picked up her coffee cup and took a sip.

"I'm Rachel."

"I know. Ever since the Prophet called and told us yesterday that he was coming and bringing you, we've been hurrying to get the place ready. It's an honor to be part of the Prophet's marriage."

Rachel realized that the events surrounding her had not filtered down to the women of this community yet. _'Score one for keeping the women in the dark'_, she thought. Trying to put a very pious look on her face, she replied humbly. "I serve the Lord as he has called me."

Naomi nodded with a smile. "Such a blessing. The Prophet left earlier this morning to go to the settlement down by Great Falls. He expects to be back on Monday. We're getting ready for Sunday services. Of course you won't be able to go. I'm sure our little meeting hall isn't as nice as the ones at your settlement, but it serves us well."

The woman continued to prattle on, Rachel turning ideas over in her mind. She asked as innocently as she could. "Who will stay behind with me during the service?"

"Oh, no one need miss out. We will simply lock you in."

Rachel looked imploringly at the woman, "Is there a Bible that I could read. Since I won't be able to attend services."

The older woman smiled, "Of course child. It pleases me to know that you thirst for the word of the Lord."

Minute's later women began streaming into the kitchen with dirty dishes. They were quickly washed and put away. A bell ringing outside caused them to hurry all the faster. Soon they filed out leaving Rachel and Naomi. "Come Rachel, let me show you were you may read and reflect."

Rachel followed the woman into a small study where several Bible's lay upon the coffee table. "We often use this room for Bible studies." Naomi explained. "We will be back after services."

"How long do you think that will be?" Rachel again tried to sound as innocent as possible.

"Brother Tobias is preaching today and he is surely filled with the Lord's word. He often goes on until lunch time."

Rachel quickly calculated that would give her almost two hours. "Thank you Sister Naomi." She opened the book and began to read.

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Sunday morning traffic was light as Don and Megan headed into the office. He had stopped and grabbed bagels and coffee for the group and then picked up Megan at her place. Her mood seemed improved over the night before.

Don wasn't surprised to see that David had already arrived. He was talking with three other agents who were working under him on the case. Giving them instructions, David walked into the bullpen with his teammates. Discussing what he had found out they saw Amita enter with her laptop. She set it up quickly and soon was pulling up the information and printed it off.

"From the information you've given me the program has found eight locations that would have a high probability of being the location." She indicated the list that she was now projecting on the screen.

The agents looked at their lists and began talking about which might be the best choice. David spoke first. "Lucky for us that the Disciples are really into applying for their tax-exempt status. For a group that hates the government so much, they sure use every option to get as much money as they can from them."

Megan agreed. "They feel by not paying taxes it is just another way to bring about the downfall of the government and pave the way for a religious based government."

"So Amita, which locations does the program say are the most likely." Don was anxious to get the ball rolling.

Amita looked over the data on her screen. "The thing is, all of these eight are so close that I hate saying that one is better than another." Her voice was full of concern. "Without something more I can't really pare it down more than that. But if I looked solely at the results, then the top three would be Gillette, Wyoming, Riverton, Wyoming and Cedar City, Utah."

Circling his copy, Don looked at the other agents. "David, get on the phone and get the state and locals going on the Cedar City location. Megan, do the same with Riverton. Each of you will head up those locations. I'll take Gillette. Keep in touch with me. David, also have Lewisky and his team start contacting the other five locations, if these aren't the spot we'll need to move quick on the others. I don't think I need to remind you that if your location isn't the one, we will need to keep a lid on communication so that they can't alert the Prophet."

Amita closed her computer. "Don? What can I do?"

"I want you to say here and we will relay information back to you. Plus, I'll have Agent Lewisky give you anything that his team finds. We've still got information coming in and maybe something might help us narrow things down. Ok, lets get to work."

Author's note: Warning the next chapter will have some adult content in it. Much like you would find in an R rated movie. Please be warned.


	9. Chapter 9

Author's note: Whoops, I was wrong. I wrote more than I had intended. The next chapter will have a little naughty spot to it. So please be warned. Hope you enjoy. Remember keep my review addiction in mind. Hit that little button.

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Rachel waited almost ten minutes before she left the study room. Her first stop was the door that she had been brought into the home through. As she had feared, it was locked, as was the one at the back of the building. The windows were small and most appeared to be painted shut. She tugged at one and it would not budge. Moving quickly she made a sweep of the house. There appeared to be no phones or computers, nothing that she could use to make contact with the outside world.

Going back to the kitchen, Rachel grabbed a large knife from the drawer, praying it wouldn't be missed. She took it with her and went to the door that she assumed would lead to the basement. The key was in the deadbolt, so she unlocked it and opened the door. A flight of stairs led downward. Flipping on the light, several bulbs dimly illuminated the lower level. Rachel hurried down the steps and immediately saw a form wrapped in a blanket. Going over, she knelt down; relieved to see that it was Colby and he was breathing. Shaking his shoulder lightly, Rachel watched Colby's eyes open. "Hey Sleeping Beauty, time to rise and shine."

His mouth was dry and he licked at his parched lips trying to find enough moisture to wet them. His voice was low and crackled slightly, "Kiss."

"What?" Rachel leaned down to hear him better.

Colby swallowed and spoke again, "Suppose to wake me with a kiss." He rolled over and pushed himself painfully into a sitting position. "Water?"

She smiled, "Trust a man to think about that at a time like this." She looked at the agent, "Hold on, I'll get you some." Rachel stood and hurried back upstairs to the kitchen and grabbed a large glass from the cabinet. On second thought she grabbed a second one and filled them both. Opening several cabinets and the refrigerator she also grabbed some food for him. Carrying it back downstairs she calculated she would have about a half an hour before she would need to return upstairs. They would need to formulate a plan.

Handing him the first glass, she watched as Colby drank the water greedily. She handed him several slices of bread and an apple that she grabbed and he gratefully accepted it. "It seems that Stone didn't see fit to tell everyone here about how I came to be "chosen" to marry him. They are keeping an eye on me, but the women don't seem to view me as much of a threat. They are at the morning service right now. If it is anything like the community I grew up in, they will have another service tonight and Bible study. That could give us time to make a break for it."

Colby nodded. "How much security is out there?"

"Looks like there are at least ten men around and I would guess thirteen to fifteen women."

"An escape route?"

"We'll have to break a window, unless we get lucky and someone leaves the door unlocked." Rachel looked at Colby and tried to access his fitness. "How are you doing? I think I heard them bringing you in last night."

"I'm ok. They had left me tied up in the barn and a couple of the more compassionate members decided that a frozen prisoner wouldn't be pleasing to the Prophet." Colby finished the bread and started in on the apple. "So the plan is to wait until evening Bible study. What happens if they don't have one?"

Rachel ran a nervous hand through her hair. "I don't know. I am not going to let that bastard get his hands on me though." Her eyes filled with tears, she swiped at them with the back of her hand.

"Hey. Hey." Colby threw his arm around Rachel and pulled her into an embrace. "It's going to be ok. We've still got a couple of days and my teammates are looking for us."

"Bullshit Colby." She tried to gain strength from him. "I just can't let that man touch me."

""He won't. I won't let that happen, Rachel."

"I better get back upstairs." Rachel slipped from Colby's arms. "I'll come back tonight when they go out for the evening service." She grabbed the glasses and the knife and stood up.

"Ok, I won't go anywhere." Colby smiled slightly.

Rachel retreated back up the steps and quietly locked the door. Going into her room, she slid the knife between the mattress and the box springs. Leaving the room she carried the glasses to the kitchen and hurried back to the study room. Less then ten minutes later she could hear disciples returning to the house.

The remainder of the morning passed quietly. Rachel again was allowed to eat in the kitchen and had learned a few things about some of the other women. Sister Naomi certainly enjoyed talking and was more than happy to fill the quiet with her non-stop talking. She had cheerfully informed Rachel that the evening service began at seven and there would be a Bible study after it. Rachel eyed the clock and hoped that the afternoon would pass quickly.

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Once the wheels had been put into motion it was just a matter of getting everyone into place. Don had flown into the closest airport and was now meeting with the locals, state police and several FBI agents. Both Megan and David had arrived at their locations and the plan was that all three locations would be raided at the same time. The soonest that they would be able to go would be six or six-thirty.

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Supper was finishing up. The women were bringing dishes back in and starting the clean up. The door to the kitchen pushed open and one of the disciples hurried in. Walking over to where Rachel and Naomi, he spoke to the Sister. "Get her ready to travel."

"I don't understand? The Prophet told us he was going to hold the marriage ceremony here." Naomi was perplexed.

"Prophet Stone just called. Three of our communities were raided by the FBI and he is worried that they might come here next."

"We've faced that before. We have nothing to hide."

"Damn it woman, just do what you're told to do."

Naomi rushed Rachel back to her room and Naomi stuffed clothing into a small duffle bag. Rachel thought about the knife under her mattress and realized there was no way to retrieve it with Naomi in the room. The older woman told Rachel to put her shoes on and then both women made their way to the front of the house. Another disciple met them and escorted Rachel out of the house and back into the van that she had arrived in. She wasn't surprised to see Colby already in the van.

A second disciple climbed in and the van pulled away from the house. Both Colby and Rachel kept quiet, hoping to learn more about their sudden departure. Luckily, the men in the front were discussing the situation.

The driver was shaking his head, "I wish the Prophet would have let us know what we might have been up against."

"It's not our place to question him." The passenger defended quickly. "Besides, the government is always more than happy to try and find a reason to bother us."

"So we are taking them up to the cabin owned by Thomas's family?"

"That's the plan. Thomas said that because it's owned by his father that there will be no connection to the family. I guess his father only goes up there for a couple of week every year. It's pretty primitive, but we won't be there long."

"At least it's not to far from here."

"The Prophet said he would be heading there and he would pick up the woman." The man turned and looked back at the two in the back. "Her cleansing period is almost over."

The conversation turned to more mundane topics and Colby and Rachel spoke to each other in whispered tones. Colby leaned close and whispered. "These might be the best odds we have. When we get there we can jump these two."

"What if this Thomas is there?" Rachel questioned.

"We wait for a break then."

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Don ripped his Kevlar vest off and slammed it down on the table. It had been almost 45 minutes since they had rushed into the settlement and they had not turned up a single clue. Speaking to one of the agents who had been working with him, Don was livid. "God damn it! No one is talking and there's no sign that Colby or Rachel have been here."

He picked up his cell phone and dialed Megan's number. "Megan. What have you got?" He paused and listened to the agent on the other end. "Shit! Keep questioning them. I don't care if you have to lean on them, I want some answers. I'll be back in touch with you."

He disconnected and hit David's number. After a few rings the other agent answered. "Yeah David what have you got there? Nothing?" He pinched at his nose, willing the headache forming to dissipate. Ok, I'll call Amita and find out how this changes her program. I want you to get to the next spot on the list. I'll call Megan."

Minutes later he finished talking to Megan and was dialing Amita's number. The young professor picked up. "Amita? We've come up empty on the first three. Can you feed that into your program and see if anything different comes up?"

On the other end of the line, Amita sat down heavily in a chair. 'I've failed them' she thought to herself. "I can. Don, I am so sorry that I've screwed this up. I should have had you call Charlie." Her voice was guilt-laden.

"Amita, this isn't your fault. Charlie always tells me that it's called a probability, not a certainty for a reason. I know you're trying your best. We didn't have the best of information to give you and it's just a matter of narrowing down the possibilities." Don tried to pick up Amita's spirits, even though he felt a nagging feeling of failure. "Get back to me if you get something more for me."

"I'll do that Don." Amita hesitated and then added. "Good luck." Normally she didn't believe much in luck but right now, she would believe in anything that would give them a break.

Don picked up his vest and headed out the door, followed by the local agent. "Let get to the airport. I've got a plane to catch."

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Eventually the van stopped. It had been another bumpy ride to the middle of nowhere and both were dismayed when the doors opened to reveal several additional disciples. 'There goes that idea.' thought Colby. They were herded into a cabin that was lit with several small lanterns. A younger looking disciple was busy lighting another lantern and he looked up as they entered.

"Hello Brother Thomas." The driver greeted the younger man. "Thank you for allowing us the use of this cabin."

"I am happy to provide refuge to the children of God. I hope the accommodations will be sufficient for you Brother John."

"I'm sure they will be. The Prophet was quite emphatic that these two be kept secure. Is there some place we can put them?" The disciple called John asked.

"The best place would probably be the loft. He indicated a ladder attached to the side of the wall. "The only way into it is the ladder and the window is too small for anyone to get in or out. Plus you can pull the trapdoor closed and lock it."

Motioning for Colby and Rachel to get up, John beckoned them to the ladder. "Alright, up you both go. The Prophet should be here in the morning, so don't go getting too comfortable."

"Any chance we could get one of those lanterns?" Colby paused before he started climbing.

"And let you burn the house down around us? I don't think so. If you're afraid just remember your faith." The sarcastic reply came from one of the new men.

"So much for love thy brother." Colby muttered.

"Get up there now." The tone was menacing.

Colby climbed up and pushed the door above his head open. He reached the top rung and slid himself into the room. Moments later Rachel joined him and the voice from downstairs told them to cover up the opening.

Moving over to the window that had been mentioned, Colby examined it and then cast a glance around him. The small room contained an old mattress, a chest of drawers and several stacks of old magazines. He turned back towards Rachel and shrugged his shoulders, "I guess he was telling the truth. I don't think either of us is going to get through that window." He walked over to the mattress and sat down. He patted the spot next to him to invite Rachel to sit next to him. "New plan. I guess that we wait until they let us down from here and I make a diversion and you head for the woods."

"That's a crappy." Rachel turned to look at him. "I run and you stay and fight. They've already shown that they have no problem with hurting you."

"Hey, that's why I get the big bucks." Colby teased. "Seriously though, you have a better chance than I do right now to get away and alert the police. Besides, they won't hurt you."

"The Prophet's wife!" Rachel spit the words out and then buried her head in her hands.

"Rachel, I told you, I won't let that happen. I'll kill Stone with my bare hands before I let him touch you." His arm went around her and he slowly rubbed her back trying to calm her. Her muscles were knotted tight and he moved higher to rub her shoulders.

The feel of Colby's strong hands on her shoulders was soothing. He kneaded and manipulated the soft flesh gently, trying to loosen them. Small moans of contentment escaped her lips. "That feels really good Colby." Suddenly she moved away from his hands and turned to face him, confusion was evident on his face. "Colby, I've got a plan."

"Let's hear it."

"I want you to have sex with me."


	10. Chapter 10

Author's notes: Ok, here is the chapter I've been warning you about. The content is that you might find in a PG-13 movie or an R movie. Possibly a romance novel. I tried to be as tasteful as possible, so please read at your own risk. I did not move this to an M rating because others I have read with the same rating have gone further. If you feel that it is best for this to move ratings, please let me know. Thanks. Remember to review early and review often.

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Colby wasn't sure if he had heard Rachel correctly. "Rachel?" He looked at her for clarification on what she had said.

"Colby, if I'm spoiled goods the Prophet won't want me. Don't you see, the only way to keep him away is to make myself undesirable."

He shook his head and took her hand. "Rachel, I know you're worried, but this isn't the way."

Standing up rapidly and stalking over to the window, Rachel wrapped her arms around herself. "Easy for you to say. In three days I'm going to be raped by the servant of God." The words were spat out, her anger evident.

Colby moved over to her and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. His voice was strong with emotion, "I've told you. I will not let that happen."

"That's what you've said, but when it comes down to it; will you?" Suddenly the anger left her and she felt her knees sag.

Colby helped her back to the mattress; "We'll need to be ready to make our move, so lets try to get some sleep." He moved to the other side and lay down. "If I know Don, he won't stop until he finds us."

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After coming up empty at all three locations, Don had redirected the search to the next three places that Amita had determined. As he flew into the Liberty County airport, he spoke with Megan who was heading up the search at another site. "I can't help but worry that Stone has found out about the raids at the other settlements and he'll be on the move."

"The local have been doing their best to keep things under wraps Don." Megan looked at the information in front of her. "What time do you want to go in the morning with these next locations?"

"Tonight. I don't want to give them time to move very far. I'm also having them put up roadblocks."

"Tonight? Do you think that's the best idea? A person can lose a lot of evidence or even a witness under cover of darkness."

"That's a risk I'm willing to take. I want these people off balance; we might get lucky and have someone talk."

"Loose lips sink ships." Megan quipped.

"Exactly. How soon will you be in place?" Don questioned. He could hear her talking to another agent.

"They tell me we should be there in forty-five minutes. What's David's ETA?"

"He's there already. Get everyone ready to go as soon as you get there and call me. I'll be waiting. Talk to you later." Don hung up and then dialed Amita's number. After three rings she picked up. "Hi Amita, its' Don. Anything more on your end?"

Amita didn't relish giving the man the information she had. "I'm afraid not Don. I've ran the data again and I'm still getting the same hits on my list." She could hear the man sigh.

"I wish there was something more I could tell you Don."

"It's ok Amita. We're hitting the next three settlements tonight. We hope by going at them again so quickly we will get lucky. Call if you find anything you think might help."

"I will Don. Bye." Amita closed her cell phone and sat back down dejectedly. Suddenly she flipped her phone open again and hit a number. A few moments later she heard Charlie's cheerful hello.

"Amita!"

"Hey Charlie, I need some help."

"Sure, what can I do for you?"

As quickly as possible Amita told Charlie about what was happening. The concern in his voice when he heard about Colby made her wince. Keeping the information about a friend from him had probably not been the right choice, but it was too late to worry about that now. She hoped that he would understand that everyone had only done what they felt was best. "I don't know what I did wrong with the data?"

Charlie could hear the anguish in her voice. "Amita, there wasn't a lot of hard data to work with and what we can do is only project probabilities. Remember there is a reason that they are called probabilities, if not we would call them certainties."

"I know, but Charlie, I've let Don down. Worse, my inability to get the right answers might cost Colby and the other agent their lives." Amita sounded as bad as she felt. Never had she felt so responsible for the results of her work.

"Amita," Charlie spoke to her softly. "Don understands the nature of this type of work. He doesn't expect us to be right every time. Statistically it can't happen." He paused and waited to see if the young woman would speak. When she didn't, he continued. "Would you like me to come back and help?"

The answer rushed from her lips, "No Charlie. I'll send you the data and you can see if I've missed anything. What you are doing is too important to your career. Colby wouldn't want you to throw anything away on his account."

"Because he would have faith in the work you are doing." Charlie finished for her. "Alright, send me the information and I'll take a look at it. Amita, I have faith in you too."

"Thanks Charlie. Call me later and let me know if the numbers look right to you."

"I will. Bye."

"Bye." She waited until she heard him disconnect. "I love you Charlie."

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The agent rubbed his tired eyes, it was 1:45 a.m. and he was waiting for the call from his boss to let him know when to mount the raid on the Disciple's holding. Taking a sip of his now cooling coffee, David grimaced. _'Damn it Granger, where are you?'_ The next series of raids would hopefully yield some information that would help them find their friend.

David was thinking about the last time he and Colby had gone out together. It never ceased to amaze him how many women were casting looks towards his partner. Colby seemed oblivious to it and when David mentioned it, the other man had a good laugh.

"David, all they know is what they see. They see the suit and tie and think I'm a good catch. I know it sounds crazy, but what I want is a woman that doesn't care about anything other than who I am on the inside; someone who will be a partner, not a clingy thing that can't take care of herself."

Agreeing with Colby, David had gone on to admit he did have a slight crush on Claudia Gomez. Of course Colby now delighted in the opportunity to tease him about it. _'What I wouldn't give to hear some of his shit right now.'_

The ringing of his phone caused David to slop the cold coffee. Swearing and setting down the cup, he answered. "Sinclair." He listened and acknowledged the message. Looking at the other men in the room, he stood. "Ok guys, let's hit it."

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It was two a.m. and a caravan of vehicles pulled into the dusty driveway that led to the Disciples settlement. They pulled in and the men and women swarmed from the cars and within minutes had secured the several buildings that comprised the ranch.

Don was moving around the buildings, checking with other agents and officers to see if any new information was being collected. A state trooper found him in the kitchen of one of the houses and informed him that some blood had been found. Following the trooper out, they made their way to a barn that was standing at the edge of the woods. Inside a length of rope was wrapped around a support post. Kneeling down, Don noticed that the rope was covered in blood. "I want this bagged and sent in for DNA testing. I need to know who was being held."

Walking back into the house he was motioned over by another agent. "Agent Eppes, one of our agents is in with a woman," he flipped open a notepad. "A Naomi Russell. She told the agent the Prophet's newest wife was brought here."

"Did she say anything about Colby?"

"She refused to say much more. We're still working on her though."

"Push harder. I'm sure they were both here and I want to know where they went." Don pulled out his phone and called the rest of the team to see if they had any luck. This location seemed to be their best bet so far."

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The sound of the trapdoor being moved brought Colby out of his light slumber. His arm felt heavy and when he looked at it he could see the cause; Rachel had fallen asleep and had rolled up next to him. Her head was on his upper arm and chest. Nudging her gently he whispered to her, "We might be getting our chance soon. Be ready."

"Come down here both of you. Rachel, come down first." The voice of Arner Stone was firm.

Rachel shot Colby an angry look and started down the ladder. Colby followed and when he got to the bottom he was surprised to see Arner with his arm wrapped around Rachel's neck. A gun was held in his hand and it was pressed into her side. "Sorry," his tone was anything but apologetic. "It seems that the government continues to persecute my people. Rachel, I never imagined that you would be so popular. Let's get to the vehicle. You hero," he indicated to Colby. "Don't go getting any bright ideas. I'd hate for something to happen to my fiancé."

Colby looked at Rachel and gave the smallest of headshakes. He allowed himself to be bound and then loaded into the back of a large blue Suburban, where he was instructed to lay flat on the floor. Moments later Rachel was helped in and the door shut behind them.

They had traveled for a while when a cell phone rang. Arner answered and it was immediately evident that he was not happy. "What?! Are you sure? Just the hard surface roads. Alright. Thanks for the call."

Arner turned to the man driving and relayed the information to him. Roadblocks had been set up. Apparently, the back roads were not of a concern, so they would need to stick to those and there would be a change in plans. They would go to another remote location and wait it out.

In the darkness Colby made his way to her ear and whispered to her. "I'm sorry Rachel."

"I think my time is just about up."

Back at the cabin he had turned it over and over in his mind before he had fallen asleep and he had made up his mind. Whispering back to her, Colby spoke with conviction, "I'll do what you want Rachel."

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Amita had been staying by her phone, hoping to hear some good news. Both David and Megan had called and told her that their locations had not provided any evidence of Colby or Rachel being there. She felt terrible, there had to be something wrong with her results.

She had just put a cup of water into the microwave to heat for tea when the phone rang. Looking at the display she could see that it was Don. "Hello Don." She listened intently while the agent told her that Colby and Rachel had been to this location. The problem was that they had been moved. He was compiling new information and could she start looking at it?

"Certainly Don. Have them send it to my email and I'll get started right away." Hanging up she smiled momentarily and walked back to her computer, tea forgotten for the time being.

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The vehicle came to a stop and the captives were led through the dark woods. Following a man with a flashlight, they were shown to what appeared to be a small one-room cabin. They were hustled inside and a fourth man entered with several blankets and a small flashlight. The men backed out of the room and the thick wooden door was shut behind them.

Rachel felt for the flashlight and thumbed it on. She moved to Colby and picked at the ropes that secured his hands. The knots loosened and Colby's hands were soon free. He stood trying to rub the feeling back into his fingers as Rachel turned her attention to looking for a way out. The single window was boarded shut and after pushing on the boards, Rachel concluded that the nails were going to hold tight.

"I'm guessing that they have probably left someone watching the door." Colby walked to the door and pounded on it. A minute later the door was flung open and an angry looking man was demanding to know what was going on.

Colby smiled sweetly at the man, "Just wanted to make sure we left a wake up call for 10 a.m., we'd like to sleep in a little."

With a scowl the man slammed the door shut and they could hear a wooden bar falling into place. "He must be watching from a little ways off. I don't think he's right outside the door." Colby looked around the cabin. Other than several cabinets hanging on the wall it was completely bare. "Remind me to complain about these accommodations." He sat down gingerly.

"What I wouldn't give for a hot bath right now." Sighed Rachel as she sat down beside him. "I don't know how much juice these batteries have, so I guess we better conserve it." She switched off the flashlight and the room was thrown back into pitch-blackness.

They sat quietly for a few minutes until Rachel cleared her throat lightly. "So, did you really mean it? What you told me in the car?" She was feeling a little embarrassed about bringing the subject up.

He reached out and felt for Rachel's location. Putting his arm around her and giving a comforting squeeze, Colby spoke to her reassuringly. "Rachel, I know you are scared. I will do whatever you want me to do, if it will help you."

Feeling her way up his arm, Rachel laid her hand on his cheek and slowly caressed it. "Then do this for me. I refuse to have my first time be with that beast." She let her fingers trail from his check down and along his jaw line, the beginnings of a beard evident by the roughness. "Please Colby."

He reached up for her hand and clasped it with his own. "Are you sure this is what you really want Rachel?" He questioned. "I feel as if I would be taking advantage of you. It doesn't feel like I would be doing right by you."

"Damn it Colby," the emotion thick in her voice. "People have sex everyday for worse reasons. They go to the bar, get drunk and fuck in the back alleys. They pick up prostitutes on side streets. They cheat on their spouses with the pool boy. I'm asking you for a little pity. I want you to have sex with me." She tried to pull her hands from his grasp.

"Rachel." He held her tightly. "That's my concern, you are such a beautiful, smart, strong woman and it would have nothing to do with pity if I sleep with you. I'm afraid that I wouldn't be doing it for you, but for my own self-gratification." There, he had told her the truth.

"Colby, I know that this doesn't seem to be the time or the place for this. But think about it, if we had met under different circumstances, we might have ended up at this point anyway. What I want is for you to help me save myself from Stone." She pulled his hands up to her face and kissed them. "Colby?"

He slid his hands from hers and lightly stroked the hair away from her face. He placed a gentle kiss on her lips. "Alright." Colby eased her back onto the blanket, the hard floor beneath her. He slowly let his lips and hands travel along the length of her body. He felt her respond to his feathery touches and in time he could feel her pressing into them.

This was not the way she had envisioned her first time, but the lightness of his fingers and the feel of his breath on her skin was causing her body to respond in ways she had never allowed. His tongue was tracing a line from her collarbone to where the buttons of the dress met. He slowly undid the first button and then the second. The cool air did little to battle the heat starting to build within her. Her hands found his head and began running through his hair as his mouth and hands caressed her.

She could feel him fumbling with the next button and she abruptly sat up. Colby was concerned until she whispered in a passion deepened voice, "Let me help."

Rachel pulled the cotton dress over her head and let it fall to the floor. Their eyes had adjusted to the darkness of the room and Colby could see the faint outline of her body. The white bra and panties illuminated by the dim light, almost like a beacon in the darkness.

Swallowing hard, Colby attempted one more time to dissuade Rachel. "You're sure?" He asked as he shifted, the fullness pressing against his pants was becoming more uncomfortable.

To answer she reached up and pulled his lips to hers in a passion filled kiss, her tongue pushing past his lips. His hands dropped to her sides and stroked up and down, each time moving closer to her breasts. Rachel's fingers deftly plucked at the buttons of his shirt and soon it was hanging open; her own hands running over his chest and abdomen as if trying to memorize every line. He shrugged out of it and it fell next to the dress.

Colby's hands continued to stroke her smooth skin around her chest and moving inward he cupped her breasts gently and massaged the taunt nipples with his thumbs, the smooth cotton rubbing lightly against her flesh. He lowered the straps and unhooked it, letting it fall away from her creamy skin. Lowering his head he began to lavish kisses on them. Pulling a nipple into his mouth he delighted in the feel and the taste of her skin.

Rachel moaned low in her throat as he licked and sucked his way lower. By the time he had removed her panties she was pushing against him in a way that she never would have imagined. The sensations she felt were washing over her like wave after wave of warm water. Suddenly, she could not breathe and her body felt as if it were ready to explode. Closing her eyes she tried to make her lungs respond, but she was powerless. Then, as if by magic, air rushed in again and she felt as if every bone in her body had ceased to exist.

Colby moved back up to her face and reached out to her. He smoothed her hair and peppered her with little kisses. "Are you still with me?" He asked softly.

"Mmmmmm, yes. I've never felt so." Rachel was lost for words. Gradually she became aware of the firmness pressing against her hip. With one hand she reached out and felt the smoothness of his back. The other hand snaked around to his waist and pulled at the button that held the pants together. "I want you so much Colby." Her voice sounded so foreign to her own ears. "Make love to me."

Kicking his shoes off, Colby slid the pants and his briefs off his hips and then pulled them off; another addition for the pile of shed clothing. His erection was rock hard and a groan slipped past his mouth when Rachel slid her hand around the length of it. Her hand kept a firm grip on it as she slid it up and down. Positioning himself between Rachel's legs he took care to make sure there was as much moisture as possible for the initial entry.

"It might sting for a minute sweetheart, but it will feel good once you stretch a little. Trust me." Colby quietly spoke into her ear, his hand stroking her hair.

"I trust you Colby."

Taking a deep breath he slowly pushed his hardness into her. Bit by bit it slid in, he felt a small shudder from Rachel as he made the first push. "Easy babe, almost there." Once he was fully in he remained still for a moment. As he felt her muscles yield, he slowly began stroking in and out.

Rachel soon found the initial pain had been replaced by an incredible feeling for fullness. Her lower body had a mind of it's own as she began to push and grind against him. Her legs swung up and locked around his lower back as she tried to maintain the rhythm he was setting.

Trying to keep himself in check, Colby found that his vision was beginning to blacken a little around the edges. The speed of his thrusts increased and a cry escaped his mouth. Pushing deep within her, Colby's head hung limply as he waited for his pulse to return to a more normal speed. Wrapping his arms around Rachel, Colby rolled over, pulling her on top of him and they lay there in the afterglow.

Once she trusted her voice, she spoke softly. "Colby, that was amazing. Thank you." She leaned closer and gave him a kiss. She moved slowly from him and lay close to him, listening to his heartbeat. She could feel his arm holding her tight to him.

He gave her a warm squeeze and reached for the second blanket, pulling it up over their bodies. "I hope I didn't hurt you."

"No you didn't." She snuggled close and in minutes her breathing had evened out and he could tell that she was sleeping. Closing his eyes Colby told himself it would just be for a moment. But soon he was sleeping a deep, satisfying sleep.

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Another day was dawning and Don was starting to feel like they were making some headway finally. Naomi Russell had continued to disclose information and with what they knew they were going to press the male elder. Don reasoned that he would most likely know where the Prophet had fled.

Armed with the fact that the blood had been confirmed as coming from Colby, Don had the first physical proof that the agents had been there. Slamming his folder down on the table, he leaned over the man. "Don't jerk me around. I know they were held here. Where did they go?"

"The Prophet is a great man and he does not need to explain God's plan to all."

"This is bullshit. Tell me where they went!"

"I will not help you with your persecution of the Prophet." The man remained steadfast.

"Get his ass out of here before I forget his rights." Don waited until the man had been led from the room and then he sat down and cradled his head. A trooper stuck his head inside asked Don if he needed anything. Don shook his head and laying it down on the table he closed his eyes, he would rest them for just a minute. After several minutes, he opened them again and went out to find the local law enforcement officers.

"I want the name of everyone in this area that is associated with this religion and I want contacts they might have. It's obvious that they are getting outside help. Also have those contact names cross-referenced with property tax information. I need to know where they might be trying to hide." Don looked at the tired faces staring back at him. "Bring in whatever fresh replacements you have and get them briefed. I want all of you to try and catch some shut-eye."

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The sound of the door opening didn't wake the sleeping agents, however the sound of the Prophet yelling at the top of his lungs did. "Fornicators! I have brought a viper into the nest."

Colby stood up and helped Rachel to her feet, giving her the blanket to wrap around her. He reached for his underwear and slipped it on while looking defiantly at Stone. He reached for his pants and slipped them on as well. The other men had rushed in and could see what had obviously transpired.

With spit flying from his mouth as he raged, Stone yelled for the Disciples to grab Colby and then he turned his attention to Rachel. "Put your clothes on Jezebel. There is no need for modesty when you have lain with another. Brother Parker, go and get me a rod. It is time for these sinners to atone for their sin."

Rachel dressed quickly and stood watching warily. The Prophet told the men holding Colby to take him outside and then he grabbed her arm and pulled her outside too. Making sure he had everyone's attention, Stone began to thunder, "Leviticus 26:18 tells us I will punish you for your sins seven times over. Rachel, it is obvious that this man has defiled you. I will pray for your soul if you will beg for God's forgiveness."

Rachel began to talk, but Colby glared at her to be quiet and began talking to Stone. "You're right Stone, It was my fault, I pushed her into being with me. She only submitted because she knew that man has dominion over the woman. She dared not to defy me."

Shaking her head Rachel looked at Colby. She knew what he was doing, but she didn't like the idea. Colby shot her another look, trying to convey to her that he wanted her to play along. Biting her lip, Rachel looked down and tried to look repentant.

"So you are accepting all blame for this?" Stone's eyes held a maniacal sheen.

"Yes." Colby replied stoically.

"Bind him to the tree." Stone ordered his men.

They pushed him over to a tree and forced his arms around it. The rough bark rubbed painfully against his bare chest as they tied his hands together. He turned his head slightly and made eye contact with Rachel who was now being held tight by another disciple.

One of the men returned and handed the Prophet a fishing pole, minus the reel. Stone swung the fiberglass rod through the air, listening to the sound of air rushing past it. "The Old Testament speaks to us about punishment for the misdeeds of man." Speaking to Colby he continued. "You have accepted responsibility for this action and now you will accept yours and the woman's punishment. It will be seven lashes for each of you." With that the man swung the rod back and brought it rushing forward, striking the young agent across the back. A thin line of blood appeared.

The Prophet smiled. "One!"


	11. Chapter 11

Author's notes: Busy time. State Speech Contest and end of the quarter, so forgive me for taking longer to get this next chapter up. Hopefully no one was too turned off by the Colby/Rachel loving. Now for a little more pain! Please be kind and review it, I like the feedback so I know what I'm doing wrong.

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Colby had tried to steel himself against the first stroke of the fiberglass fishing rod, but the lash of it bit into his back, making him flinch against the rough bark of the tree. The fiery pain ignited his back. He bit his lip to hold the cry that threatened to explode from his throat. He was not prepared to give the Prophet the satisfaction that would come with his screams.

"One" intoned the Prophet as he reared back and let fly with the second lash. It landed close to the first, but positioned so that it cut into untouched flesh. "Two" .

Rachel was horrified. When Colby had spoke up and claimed full responsibility for the tryst, she had wanted to speak up. The look he had shot her spoke volumes, imploring her to stay quiet. The swelling from his previous beating having diminished enough to allow him to look at her with both eyes. As the Prophet delivered the next blow she started to struggle with the man holding her. Her pleading for leniency falling on deaf ears.

"Three."

Blood that had started welling up on the first strokes was now beginning to run down the agent's bare back. The sight of the blood appeared to energize the Prophet, who increased the speed and viciousness of his swings. Each lash causing Colby to twist with the pain. Blood started to run from his lip, his own teeth inflicting more pain. Tears had sprung in his eyes and were tracing a path down his bruised face.

"Four."

"Five."

"Six."

"Seven."

The Prophet paused and approached the tree. Colby's head was resting against the tree and his breathing was ragged. The trained soldier in him worked to push the pain to another part of his brain; to deal with it later. Stone grabbed Colby's hair and pulled his head back, forcing Colby to look at him. "You have finished with your punishment. Do you still wish to claim her punishment as well?"

Colby glared defiantly at Stone. "Yes." Speaking as loudly as he could, hoping to sway any of the disciples standing there, Colby spoke again. "Judge not lest thee be judged. Matthew Chapter 7, verse 1. The rest of you remember that when he finds you guilty of a transgression."

Leaning in close, Stone spoke into Colby's ear. "I know what you are trying to do, but they are strong in their devotion. Like sheep." Pushing Colby's head away, Stone spoke loudly. "He will not repent and will take the harlot's lashes as well."

"For God's sake, do something please." Rachel screamed at the small group of men that were watching the punishment. "Where is the forgiveness and compassion that Christ taught of?"

Stone looked at Rachel and laughed. "You'll will be escaping the lash today Rachel, but God's wrath has yet to be decided upon for you." His leer suggested what the outcome might be. Pulling back quickly on the fishing pole, he switched his aim, trying to now criss-cross the blows. "Eight!"

A groan escaped Colby's mouth. He was embarrassed that it had happened; he toughened his reserve. It would not happen again.

"Nine"

"Ten."

Colby's legs started to weaken. If it were not for the tightness of his bonds, he would probably collapse to the ground. The blood was thick enough on his back that when a new attack would come, the rod would splatter blood as it connected with broken skin.

"Eleven."

The rod came down and with the brutal treatment it suddenly snapped. The broken sections splintering and small fragments of fiberglass imbedded themselves into the bleeding wounds. "Son of a bitch." Screamed Colby.

Smiling, Stone now wielded a much smaller section of pole. He moved closer and brought it downward. The line guides gouged into Colby's back. A cry of pain again slipped past Colby's defenses. The continued assault on his back proved too much for Colby's resolve; moans accompanied each stroke.

"Twelve."

"Thirteen!"

"Fourteen!" The Prophet put all of his energy into the last strike.

Colby sagged against his bonds, his legs felt weak and he would have fallen had it not been for his arms being wrapped tightly around the tree. His back was burning with pain. The nerve endings were screaming, and he knew he was bleeding, but he couldn't feel it.

A disciple moved towards him and untied the rope. Colby slid to the ground and lay gasping; trying to gain control of himself.

The Prophet walked over to Colby's prone form and looked down at him. "Your continued existence is still in question young man. I will offer it up to the Lord in prayer, but often prayers fall upon deaf ears." He motioned to the disciples, "Lock them back up. I don't think we have anything to worry about with them being alone." Stone laughed bitterly and walked away.

Two of the disciples grabbed Colby by the arms and pulled him roughly to his feet. He stumbled along as they led him and Rachel back to the cabin.

As they approached, Rachel took a good look at the surrounding area and cabin. The woods were very close, with the cabin being tucked into a very small clearing. The window that she thought was boarded up was actually just covered with wooden shutters, a cross-bar held them shut.

The two men pulled Colby inside and released him. Colby was able to break his fall, but still went down to the ground heavily. Rachel glared at them as they exited the cabin. She turned to the third man who was now standing in the doorway. "Could we please have some water?"

Looking over his shoulder and seeing no one that could hear him, the man moved closer to Rachel and stroked at her cheek. "I might be persuaded." He paused when Rachel flinched at the touch. "What's it worth to you?"

_'Fuck you'_ was on the tip of her tongue when Rachel was struck by a sudden idea. She tried to look defeated and whispered to him in a tone that implied she had reached her limit. "What ever I need to."

The other man seemed to contemplate the offer. "I'll see what I can do, but you'll need to pay the price when the time comes." He looked at her hungrily, "After all, it doesn't seem that you're too picky about who you spread your legs for." He nodded at Colby. "Not picky at all."

He turned and left the cabin, shutting the door behind him. Rachel turned and dropped quickly down beside Colby. Her hands touched him softly, he recoiled to her movement. Looking at the flayed skin and blood she realized at this moment there was nothing she could do for him and this made her feel terrible. "I'm so sorry Colby. If I had known I never would have suggested it."

Colby had cradled his head in his arms and his words were slightly muffled and filled with pain. "It's alright. He's just crazy." He panted slightly at the exertion it was taking to converse. "Would have found a reason anyway."

"I've asked for some water. We will drink some and then I'll clean up your back."

"That guy will want something in return." Colby had heard the entire conversation and didn't like the idea of a payment.

"Don't worry. I've got a plan." Rachel smiled for the first time in hours. "I'll need you ready to move though. Can you do that?"

Colby's voice sounded tired, "I'll have to."


	12. Chapter 12

Author's notes: Sorry this took so long. I haven't had much time to write this last week. I hope you haven't abandoned me. Remember authors always love it when you hit that review button! Also with Colby's back story. He was Army Special Forces and I got information from their site and also the ever popular Wikipedia. Any mistake is surely mine!

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Knowing that there was nothing she could do to help Colby at the moment, Rachel moved to the door. She had a plan, but so much could go wrong with it she hated to get her hopes up. She was banking on the disciple's desires for the "compensation" for the water he was bringing would be enough to distract him momentarily. She had filled Colby in on the plan and while she knew he was skeptical, he agreed it was probably their best chance for escape. She had found a slight crack in the door and sat close, peering out towards where the man would be coming from.

Colby had stayed as still as he could, hoping that by remaining motionless that the pain would dissipate. It had subsided only slightly. He had asked Rachel to help him put his shirt back on and the feel of the cotton material touching the lash marks was enough to make him want to whimper like a beaten pup. He would never do that. He had cursed himself for shouting out during the beating; it had been his intent to be stoically silent. Hell, he had been trained to withstand torture, to understand what methods could be used to break a man. Some of the guys who had washed out of the Special Forces training couldn't even take a light beating. He had been able to take it all, he was determined to never sully the reputation of the Green Berets; he would never be weak.

He let himself slip into the memories of his tour of duty overseas. During his time in Afghanistan he had helped interrogate numerous insurgents, sometimes the methods were extreme, but never did he subject a prisoner to physical injuries to this extent. His own black humor made him snort softly; perhaps this was some type of karma; God's way of saying "paybacks are a bitch". He shifted slightly, his breath coming out as a sharp hiss of pain.

"Colby." Rachel whispered. "I can see him, start making noise."

It wasn't hard to give into the pain that he felt, but the worse pain was that to his ego. What did it matter if some religious zealot thought he was a pussy? The plan was to distract the disciple and if him moaning and crying would do it, then so be it.

"Oh God it hurts!" Colby cried out loudly. "Please, please, please, please." He moaned loudly. "Oh God!"

Rachel scooted away from the door and stood back and slightly to the side. She took a deep breath to steel herself against what she was going to have to do.

The door opened and the disciple stepped into the cabin, a look of disgust on his face. Clearly he felt that Colby's cries were distasteful. Looking at Colby with contempt on his face, he spoke. "The fires of hell will be much worse."

He didn't get time to say much more before Rachel jumped him from behind. Forcing him off balance she pushed him down and with as much strength as she had, she slammed his head into the wood floor. The man beneath her went limp and she quickly stood up. Moving to Colby, she offered him a hand. "Come on, I don't know if there are others or how soon he'll be missed." She stooped and retrieved the bottle of water the man had been carrying.

Colby stood; he could feel his legs swaying under him. "Maybe you should go on without me."

"Hell no, they'll kill you and then ask questions." Rachel moved towards the door and opened it a crack. "Looks clear." She waited for Colby to move to her. "Let's go."

They both hurried from the small cabin, heading for the shelter of the woods. Rachel had figured that once they had put some distance between them and the cabin, then they could worry about direction.

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Beginning to feel the lack of sleep catching up with him, Don had decided to take a brief nap while he was waiting for additional information to come in. Before he stretched out in the lounge of the local police department, he had spoken to both David and Megan. They were flying into the local airport and would be meeting him as soon as possible. Trying to find a comfortable position, he closed his eyes.

Forty-five minutes later a deputy stuck his head inside the lounge and spoke softly, "Agent Eppes."

Rousing himself, Don sat up, his eyes felt like they were full of gravel. He squinted at the shape in front of the door, "What is it?"

"The sheriff asked me to tell you that Agent Reeves is on her way here."

"Ok," Don rubbed his face. "Thanks." He replied off-handedly. Looking around he saw a coffee pot. He poured a cup of coffee and took a tentative sip. Making a face, he looked for someplace to dump the offensive brew. Emptying it into a small sink, he rinsed the coffee cup and placed it back by the maker. He opened the door and went out. He made his way to the small conference room that was currently serving as a headquarters for the FBI agents working the case.

"Hey Don, up already?" Bill Harrison, a local agent looked at him skeptically.

"Yeah, any new developments?"

"The older woman, Naomi Russell, has been the biggest source of information. She did mention a Brother Thomas. We've done some digging and we've come up with a known disciple named Brandon Thomas. He's a local boy who joined up with this group. His family has a ranch outside of town. I've sent someone out to talk to his parents."

"Sounds like we are finally getting somewhere." Don felt a hand on his shoulder and he turned around warily. An equally tired looking Megan was standing beside him. "Megan, I'm glad to see you. Megan Reeves this is Bill Harrison."

"Nice to meet you Megan."

"Same here. What have we got?" Megan pulled up a chair and took out her notebook.

"I was just telling Don that we are chasing down a possible lead on where they may have run to."

Don spoke quietly, "I'll run Stone to the ends of the earth if I have to."

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They had been running for a while. Rachel had grabbed Colby's arm and was encouraging him to keep going. He had never felt so weak, his lungs were bursting, his legs were like jelly and his back was stinging from the sweat running into the whip marks. "I need a breather." He stopped and bent over, sucking air in.

"Here take a drink." Rachel held out the bottle of water that she had picked up from the cabin. She turned and tried to get her bearings. "It looks if we go that way," she pointed towards a slight rise. "We should be headed north. I think we went south after we left the town."

Drinking lightly, Colby handed the bottle back to Rachel.

Frowning she took it and had a sip herself. "You should drink more of this water."

"I could say the same thing to you. Besides, as the sun gets higher in the sky we might want that water more."

"Point taken. Are you ready to go?"

Colby gave her a tight smile, "Sure thing. First one to town buys breakfast."

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The disciple that went to check on the two captives sounded the alarm quickly after discovering that the door was not lock and that one of the followers was now lying unconscious on the floor of the cabin

Stone was livid from the moment he heard the news on his portable radio. "Find them both. Rachel is to be brought to me. The other is of no consequence now."

The six men who had been there quickly began fanning out, looking for clues that would lead to the recapture of the escapees. It didn't take long before they found a smear of blood on a low pine bough, indicating the direction they must have taken. The searchers began heading after them, confident that they would be catching them soon enough.

Throwing a coffee cup against the wall, Stone raged to himself. Swearing and cursing the existence of the interloper who had caused so much trouble.

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"Good news Don. The agents that question the parents indicated that they have two small cabins in the more remote parts of the ranch. It seems that Brandon likes to use them as a get away when he's having problems, which seems like often enough looking at his record. There are several mentions of assault, public intoxication and 2nd degree sexual misconduct." Megan smiled as she relayed the information.

"Get a team together; we're headed to the cabins." Don grabbed his coffee, he had brewed a new pot and it was the only think keeping him going.

"David should be here soon. Hitting that fog delay really pushed his arrival back." Megan grabbed her blue FBI jacket from the back of the chair.

"Have him meet us there. I want to roll in fifteen minutes." Don took a deep breath, 'let this be the one' he thought.

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Colby wasn't a quitter, but he knew that he was a liability right now. His injuries and hunger-weaken condition were telling the story. Rachel could make better time without him. They had crested the rise and could see the glimmer of a lake in the distance through the trees. "Rachel, we need to split up."

"What?" She looked at him sharply.

"I can't keep up and we will have a better chance of getting out of this if you get to help sooner." He looked her in the eyes. He could see that she knew he was right, but that didn't make it easier.

"Colby, we've come to far together. I think we'll be safer if we stick together."

"No. I'll pull rank if I have to."

"Damn it. If they get a hold of you do you have any idea what they will do to you?"

"They've got to catch me first Rachel." He smiled at her. "Besides, I'm really hoping that once we get back you'll let me take you out for dinner."

She looked at him with a sad smile "I think I'd like that." Suddenly tears sprang to her eyes. "Be careful ok?"

"You know it. Get going. I'm going to head to the west. That should take them way from you."

Rachel moved close and gave him a quick kiss on his cheek, "I'll send someone back as soon as I can." She turned and started making her way towards the distance lake.

Watching her retreating form, Colby clutched his aching side and began moving in the opposite direction. He paused a moment and painfully reached to his back. The blood had congealed but his hand still came away with a smear of blood. Looking for an obvious surface, he wiped it in a conspicuous location. Hopefully if the men searching for him made it to this spot they would see the blood. He made sure to repeat this process so that they would follow his trail. It would hopefully keep them following him and not Rachel.


	13. Chapter 13

Author's notes: Getting close to the end. Thanks to those of your reading this and especially those reviewing it!

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David grabbed at the dash to brace himself as the vehicle bounced over the wash boarded roadway. "Damn, doesn't the county believe in maintenance this far in the boonies?" He had arrived from the airport just in time to head out with the team going to check on the cabin.

"This is a private road," Agent Bill Harrison smiled and shook his head at the other agent. "I know that off-roading in L.A. must be pulling your SUV onto the lawn when you are washing it, but out here," he paused for effect. "This is a good road."

"Funny. Can you try to hit a few more of those really deep ones? I love the feel of the roof against my head."

"How much further Bill?" Megan spoke up from the back seat.

"I'm guessing about two or three miles. The deputy in the car ahead of us has actually been out to this cabin before. I guess him and Brandon Thomas went to school together and they were friends then."

Turning to Megan, David grimaced as they hit another bump. "How is Don doing?"

"From what I can tell he did catch a nap while waiting for both of us to get to town. I know he's worried and I'm sure he's feeling guilty about sending Colby undercover on this."

"Colby can take care of himself." David spoke confidently about his partner.

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Colby had to stop again. He hated feeling this weak, it wasn't who he was. He looked at the ground and was tempted to sit down and rest for a moment. He shook his head to clear his vision, the last 10 minutes he had noticed that his focus had been narrowing. Pushing off again he continued on with dogged determination. He had to give Rachel a chance to get away.

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Amita opened her office door and crossed to her desk. Plugging in her laptop, she pulled out her chair and sat down. She had sent what little additional information she had gleaned to Don last night. She had then gone home and caught a few hours of sleep. Her email chirped. There was nothing of importance. Looking at her cell phone she thought about calling Don. She didn't want to seem intrusive and if he needed any more information from her he would certainly call.

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Don sat silently in the Sheriff's truck as it maneuvered around the worst of the bumps and potholes that dotted the roadway. They were close to the cabin and hopefully this would be over. It had been several long days and truth be told, Don was beginning to lose hope. Charlie would be able to tell him statistically what the likelihood would be. Pinching the bridge of his nose, Don hoped that this would be the time that the numbers would lie.

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Rachel stopped and took the cap off the bottle and drained the last of the water. She felt bad that she hadn't given it to Colby, but in her quick departure she hadn't even thought about it. Besides, he would have insisted that she take it. After several days Rachel felt that she knew him well enough to know what he would have done. She smiled slightly at the image of Colby that came to her mind; the gallant knight.

Taking a deep breath, she dropped the bottle, promising to herself that littering couldn't be helped. The lake was much closer and hopefully she would be there soon.

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The agents and police swarmed out of the vehicles and within moments the interior of the cabin had been cleared. No one was there.

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He had stopped again. It had only been minutes since the last time he stopped and he wasn't sure if he was going to have the stamina to keep going. Colby scanned the area looking for anything that would help to provide him with some cover. Slowly making his way over to a downed tree he eased his aching body down to the ground. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes.

Colby had dozed off when he heard voices talking. He listened for a moment, trying to identify them. He was still hoping that it would be the good guys when a voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Looks like we've got one for the Prophet."

Arms grabbed him and roughly pulled him to his feet. "Long time no see." Colby didn't want to give them the satisfaction of seeing his disappointment.

"Lets get him back to the cabin. I'm sure the Prophet would like to dispense God's wrath."

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There were several small cabins near the edge of the lake. There was no answer as she pounded on the door of the first one. At the second, she followed the sound of loud rock and roll music blaring from a radio. She rounded the corner and surprised a young couple keeping watch over a smoking grill.

"My name is Rachel Willons and I'm a FBI agent, I need to borrow a phone."

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The deputy looked embarrassed. "I thought he would have been here. We always came up here to get away from things."

Don looked around at the simple cabin, a ladder led up to an enclosed loft area. There were signs that people had been around. Several granola bar wrappers littered the floor and chairs were pushed away from the table. Outside, tire tracks were visible in the damp earth close to the house. He knew that they had been here, felt it in his gut, but it seemed that Stone was staying one step ahead if them. "Any other place where they might have gone"

"This is the only place. His Dad's ranch isn't that big." The young man suddenly looked up excitedly. "His uncle!"

Narrowing his eyes slightly, Don looked questioningly at the deputy. "What about his uncle?"

"His uncle owned a fishing camp over by Lake Elwell. It was on the opposite side from the Tiber Dam. It hasn't been open since his uncle died a couple of years ago. Everything is tied up in court; in-fighting with the beneficiaries."

"Let's go, we've got nothing to lose." Don turned and looked Megan and David. "Contract a crew to get here and see if we can tie Rachel and Colby to this place." He looked at the deputy. "Get on the phone; I want road blocks up all around this county. I'm not going to let the Prophet slip through my fingers again."

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"You cheated." Colby commented as they came out on a rutted trail and headed towards an older Jeep. Another disciple climbed out from behind the wheel and watched them approach. "I would think God would want you to be a little more sporting."

"Shut up and get in back." The Disciple on his left pushed him firmly on the back to propel him towards the vehicle.

The pain flared across his back and it caused Colby to stumble. Falling, he painfully caught himself. He remained on all fours, trying to catch his breath. A foot connected with his already tender ribs and a cry slipped from his lips as he hit the ground fully. He rolled into a fetal position to protect himself in case of additional blows.

"Knock it off Bob," one of the men admonished. "Let's get him back. I'm starting to get a bad feeling about this whole incident." He reached down and offered Colby a hand up.

Standing shakily, Colby climbed into the Jeep and angled his body to keep the seat away from his back. He decided to keep his mouth shut during the ride back to wherever. He would probably need all of his strength for what was coming.

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"Unit Four, this is Liberty County Dispatch."

"Go ahead dispatch." The deputy driving spoke into the handset.

"I've got a call coming in from a woman who says her name is Rachel Willons."

Don looked at the deputy and nodded his head; afraid that this would be some cruel hoax.

"Put her through Dispatch." The deputy handed it over to Don.

"Hello? My name is Rachel Willons and I'm an agent with the California FBI. I was kidnapped by the Prophet Arner Stone." The voice on the other end sounded very composed, but haggard.

"This is Don Eppes, are you alright Ms. Willons?"

"I am, but another agent Colby Granger is still out there."

Don spoke quickly, "Where?"

"We escaped from the Prophet and Colby went a different way to throw them off the trail. He's injured."

"How badly?" Don was afraid to ask.

"He sustained a bad beating several days ago, plus earlier today he was whipped. I'm real worried about him."

"Where are you right now Agent Willons?" He could hear her pull the phone away and speak to someone.

"Ted and Shelly Winterhoff's. They live on Blake Ridge."

Don looked questioningly towards the deputy. The deputy mouthed "on the way". "Ok. We should be there in," He looked at the deputy again. "Twenty minutes. Don't go anywhere."

Signing off, Don gave instructions to the deputy, who got back on the radio to dispatch. Then Don picked up his cell phone and call the other vehicle to let David and Megan know the news.

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The Jeep pulled into the clearing near a two-story cabin. The area surrounding it was overgrown with weeds and had a general look of disuse. The driver pulled up to the cabin and shut off the vehicle. They exited and pulled Colby from the back. Having difficulty maintaining his balance, they steered him to the front door. Hurrying inside, the door was shut behind them and the two men holding him looked at one another; as if trying to decide what to do with the man.

"Where is Rachel!" The voice of the Prophet thundered from the top of the stairs as he descended.

"We haven't found her yet, but we did catch him." The disciple that had been driving spoke up. "We thought we would bring him back here and go look for her again."

Striding over to where the two men held the rapidly weakening agent, Stone slapped Colby across the face. "You will die a slow and painful death." Stone commanded the men holding Colby "Take him into the other room and make sure he isn't going to go anywhere."

Moments later they returned and following Stone's bidding, they left to resume the search for the missing woman.

A few minutes later Stone crossed to the other room and pulled up a chair near the now bound man. "I still haven't figured out how I'm going to kill you yet. If you tell me what I want to know, maybe I'll make it quick."

"I've got nothing to tell you Stone." Colby's voice was quiet and low.

Suddenly, Stone's cell phone rang. "Since you're not going anywhere, I don't think you mind if I take this." Stone replied sarcastically.

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The caravan of police and FBI vehicles had arrived at the Winterhoff's. Don had instructed several of the other vehicles to continue on to the other location and he would stop and pick up the know free agent. Shortly after pulling in, Rachel had exited the house and had climbed into the vehicle.

Don held out his hand, "Don Eppes. I'm Colby's boss."

"Colby told me his team would find us."

"We were closing in when you gave us a call. I've got the rest of the team headed up to the property owned by one of the disciple's family members. We think that's where they were holding you."

"But Colby's not there. I went towards the lake and he went another direction to throw them off the trail."

Don nodded, "You told us. But we want to get a hold of Stone and we will have plenty of manpower out searching for Colby." A ringing interrupted Don. "Hold on a minute." He opened his phone. "Eppes. You did?" His face was unreadable. "How far away? Did they admit to anything?" He closed his eyes momentarily, thinking, and then opened them. "Ok, head to the property, but don't approach it. What? Are you sure?"

The look on Don's face turned to anger. "Shit! Ok, change of plans. Get up there and make sure he knows you're there and don't let him get away."

Rachel watched the anxiety running through the agent's face. "What happened?"

"They stopped a Jeep. There were four men in it and they were disciples. One of them had been talking on a cell phone and my agents are sure it was Stone that was called. I've got them heading up there right now. It sounds like they had found Colby and had taken him back to Stone."

"Stone will be out of control. I don't doubt he will be mad enough to kill Colby." Rachel's face blanched.

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Stone closed the connection and looked down at the bound and bleeding man before him. "It seems as if we are going to have a little company." He went to the other room and grabbed a kerosene lamp from the table. Returning with it he smiled at Colby and then threw the lamp against the far wall. Pulling out a match he lit it and tossed it towards the broken lamp. The kerosene ignited and the fire began to race along the path that the liquid had made. "You shall be consumed by the fire. My God help your soul."

Stone turned and walked out of the room and moments later the back door slammed shut.

Colby looked at the flames now starting to travel up the pine boards that made up the walls of the cabin. With his hands and feet tied, all he could do is to watch the flames grow.


	14. Chapter 14

Author's notes: I would have finished with this chapter, but I didn't have enough time to take it all the way to the completion. So look for the final chapter by the end of the week. Enjoy. Remember to review if you please. Thanks.

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Colby could see the flames shooting quickly up the wooden walls. With his hands and legs bound tightly, he was effectively immobilized. The pain in his back and ribs made any movement an agony, but he knew that to stay where he was would be certain death. He slowly began to roll over and over again, trying to make his was way towards the door.

The smoke began to thicken, the floor, thankfully was still clear. Colby knew that it was just a matter of time before the whole room was full of the deadly smoke. The smoke began to tickle his nose and throat. He reached the door and realized that he had gone as far as he could. Stone had shut it when he had left and there was no way for Colby to open it.

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The caravan of vehicles crested the rise and the cabins that made up the old fishing camp came into view. The black smoke was clearly evident as it rolled upward from the back of the larger cabin.

"Shit." Don exclaimed. He gripped the door handle and readied himself to get out as quick as possible. The fire was more than likely the work of Stone trying to cover his tracks. Colby was probably one of those loose ends. He could hear Rachel imploring the deputy to drive faster.

The deputy driving Don's vehicle grabbed the radio and instructed the dispatch to alert the local fire department. Moments later they were sliding to a stop in the dirt packed yard. Don hopped out of the vehicle and ran towards the vehicle. Rachel was right on his heels.

As David and Megan scrambled from the second car they saw Don and Rachel running towards the burning building. David turned to Megan and implored her, "Check the back and see if Colby is outside." He then followed them towards the structure.

Don pushed the door open and the agents entered. "Colby!" Don yelled and then paused to listen.

Hearing nothing Don motioned for David to check out the upstairs and Rachel the kitchen. He then moved to the other door. Opening the door, the smoke boiled out into the larger room, he moved forward and he caught sight of a body lying on the floor. "David! Rachel!"

He grabbed Colby and under the arms and began dragging him towards the door. In moments David was there and they worked together to pick up the unconscious man and carry him from the fire. Coughing all of them emerged from the cabin and moved as far away as they could.

Outside and breathing the clean air, they lowered Colby to the ground. Megan had made her way back to the front of the building and hurried to them.

Colby's bonds were cut away and Megan dropped her head to his chest to watch and listen for his breathing. "Is there an ambulance on the way?"

The deputy responded that one would respond with the fire department. "Is he ok?"

"His breathing is shallow. I don't know how much smoke he took in." Megan looked at the soot-covered agents now sitting on the ground trying to catch their breath. "You better tell them to send at least one more, these three will need oxygen too."

Coughing and spitting, Don croaked. "I'm ok."

"It sounds like it." Megan turned her attention back to Colby. The young man was very pale and still. The shirt he wore was filty. Blood, both fresh and old stained the material. His breathing was light, the rise of his chest barely discernable. Megan ran her hand over his bruised and battered face, "We've got you Colby. You're safe." She continued the smoothing talk as they watched the fire totally consume the cabin.

It was as the roof was caving in that the fire department and the ambulance arrived. Within moments the paramedics were working on the injured agent. The firefighter began to work on keeping the blaze from spreading; the cabin was a total loss.

Using the extra oxygen, several of the deputies helped Don, David and Rachel clear their lungs. The medics began to load Colby into the ambulance and Don made a move to join them for the ride to the hospital.

Rachel approached him and asked quietly, "Do you mind if I go? I feel I owe it to him."

Don hesitated, "Yeah. Sure. I'll meet you at the hospital. We'll need to get your statement."

She smiled slightly, "I'll watch for you." She climbed in the back and took a hold of Colby's hand and stroked it gently; talking to him softly.

The doors shut and it began to move slowly back up the lane. Don looked at David and Megan. "Did either of you find any sign of Stone?"

Both shook their heads. David wiped at his eyes; red and weeping from the smoke. "I didn't see anything upstairs."

"I didn't see anything outside. I do have some of the locals checking the surrounding area. I don't think he would get too far with everyone looking for him." Megan chimed in.

"I want him found. If he goes underground again who knows how long it will be until we can locate him again." Don pushed him self up and watched as the fire fighters poured water on the still raging fire. "I'm going to held into the hospital. David, I want you to come with me and get yourself checked out too. Megan, you get Bill updated and then head in too. I'll call as soon as I get there and let you know how he's doing."

Megan nodded gratefully. "Thanks Don." She glanced at Colby. "I'm really worried about how much smoke he took in."

The two men headed to one of the vehicles. After speaking with the local deputy, they climbed into the vehicle and drove off.

Watching the car top the rise, Megan watched them disappear from sight. _"Please be alright Colby."_ She prayed silently as she went in search of the local FBI agent.

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The medic in the back of the ambulance continued to monitor Colby's vital signs when a beeping sound alerted him to the oxygen level had dipped lower. Leaning over and adjusting the volume, he watched as the percentage climbed up slightly.

Rachel had startled when the beeping had started, but the paramedic's reply had calmed her. She watched closely for any sign that Colby was returning to consciousness. The ambulance hit a large bump and a groan, muffled by the oxygen mask, escaped the wounded man's lips. His brow creased into a frown as the pain registered with him.

"It's ok Colby." She spoke in a gentle tone; she placed her hand reassuringly on his shoulder. "You're on the way to the hospital."

With his eyes opening slightly the paramedic leaned over and began questioning him on what was hurting.

"Everything." Came his reply. He tried to move his hand towards the oxygen mask, but was stopped by Rachel.

"You need to keep it on. You took in a lot of smoke." She explained, confusion was evident by the look on his face so she continued. "Stone must have started a fire before he ran."

"Get him?" His voice sounded croaky.

"Not yet, but we will."

"How are you?"

Smiling at his concern she shook her head. "Nothing that a good dinner won't fix."

"My treat."

"I think I should be offering to buy you dinner." Her voice grew serious. "When I think of everything you've done for me the last several days." She tapered off slightly as she reflected on the last couple of days.

"My treat. Ok?"

"It's a date then."

"Good." His eyes closed again and he appeared to be sleeping again.

The paramedic moved up to speak to the driver and Rachel took advantage of the bit of privacy. Leaning down she placed a small, chaste kiss on his temple.

Smiling lightly, Colby spoke again, his eyes still closed. "Remember it's supposed to be on the lips."


	15. Chapter 15

Author's notes: Sorry about the delay in getting this final chapter posted. Did a little traveling over my Spring Break. Someone forgot to tell the weather. Brrrrr! Thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed this story. Your comments inspire and guide. So keep up the good work. My next story is back to CSI:NY, Flack is missing me! After you read this chapter let me know if you think you would like to see a sequel.

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The ambulance pulled into the emergency room entrance. The driver jumped out and opened the back doors. Both medics gently lowered the gurney to the ground and wheeled it into the hospital.

Immediately several doctors and a bevy of nurses began to work on assessing the agent. A nurse took Rachel's arm and tenderly guided her to another room where she was queried about her own injuries.

After a quick check, the agent convinced the nurse that she had no injuries and that aside from inhaling a little smoke she was fine. Colby had been sent to have x-rays taken, so Rachel decided to take the nurse up on her offer to use a shower.

After a fast, hot shower Rachel toweled off and put on a set of borrowed scrubs. Returning to the emergency room she saw Don and David standing by the nurse's station.

As she walked over, Don gave her a reassuring smile, "Agent Willms.

"Any word on Colby?" Rachel inquired.

"Still up in x-ray. Sounds like the trip in went ok."

"Yes, he woke up and talked for a little while. He wanted to know if we caught Stone."

Don shook his head. "Not yet, but we've got police and agents combing the area."

"At least when we find him we should have enough to put him behind bars for a long time." David added.

The nurse who had taken care of Rachel returned and informed them that Colby had finished in x-ray and was being taken to a treatment room to have his injuries treated. If they wanted they could step in quick and say hello to him.

Filing into the room, they could see that Colby was lying on his stomach on the examination table. A light sheet covered his back, but the movement that had been required for the x-rays had caused his wounds to begin bleeding lightly again. Thin strips of blood marked the white sheet; it was a stark contrast.

Walking up to the head of the table, both David and Don knelt down so that their friend wouldn't need to strain to see them.

"Hey man." David smiled at him. "How are you doing?"

"Not bad. I think next time you would make a better religious fanatic." Colby's eyes closed as a spasm of pain coursed through his body.

"No problem. Just take it up with the boss here."

"Bringing me into it won't help." Don tried to help keep the mood light, sensing that Colby was trying to use humor to deal with the pain. "Can we get you anything Colby?"

"No, I'm good boss." Colby's blue eyes opened again and focused on the figure behind his co-workers. "Rachel?"

Stepping closer, Rachel crouched down. "Colby." She smiled tenderly at him. "Hope the scrubs didn't fool you."

"No, they look good on you. Better than that dress they had you wear."

A doctor and two nurses stepped into the room. The nurses began prepping the supplies that the doctor would need. Moving to the prone patient, the doctor introduced himself. "I'm Doctor Washington. I'm going to have to ask you folks to step out of the room. When Agent Granger is taken upstairs you can see him again."

The trio said their farewells and exited the room. They stood in the hall for a few minutes talking about where they should go to hear Rachel's story. A muffled shout from the room they had left caused them all to look sharply back towards the door.

Don cleared his throat, "I think we should go find the cafeteria."

David nodded, and ushered Rachel towards the direction of the nurse's station to ask directions. "Good plan. Colby must really be hurting."

Rachel agreed. "I was so worried that when Stone was beating Colby that he would loose control and kill him."

"It looks like it was pretty brutal. What set the Prophet off?" Don inquired.

Not ready to divulge what had happened between her and Colby, Rachel tried to minimize the question with a vague answer. "He felt that Colby had sinned."

Don seemed to accept the answer. The outer doors to the emergency room opened and Megan entered. Seeing the group, she walked over and quickly asked about Colby's condition. Frowning slightly when David mentioned Colby's pain, Megan glanced towards Rachel. She knew it was silly, but Megan felt that Colby's predicament was entirely Rachel's fault. Megan knew better, never blame a victim for what someone else does, but with her friend Colby lying injured, it was hard to tell herself.

Having been directed to the cafeteria, David and Megan went to grab coffee for the group. Settling into the slightly padded chair, Rachel looked up to find herself being scrutinized by Don's firm gaze.

Don cleared his throat and began, "I know this might be hard, but I need you to tell me your version of what happened. After Colby has had a little time to recover, I'll talk to him."

"I was on my way to work and was just locking the door." Rachel took a cup of coffee that David offered and continued her story.

Megan pulled out a notepad and started taking notes. Continuing her story, Rachel paused often when Don or the others would question her for more details. She had reached the portion of her story when she and Colby had been transported to the first of the two cabins when the doctor that had been treating Colby walked over to them.

"Agent Granger has been transferred upstairs and is resting." The doctor pulled up a chair and sat down wearily. "He asked if I would come down and give you an update."

"Thanks doctor, we really appreciate it." Don's gratitude was evident.

"He is nursing a wide variety of bruises. He also has several cracked ribs and there is evidence that he had a concussion. The most worrisome problem is that of his back. He was beaten severely with a fiberglass rod; I picked multiple shards from the wounds. The risk of infection with that many wounds is my concern. We have him on a cocktail of several antibiotics, but it will be a while before we know if we've caught it."

"Will there be much scaring?" Rachel's voice was quiet.

"Hard to tell. I think given the depth of the wounds that there will be some." The doctor shook his head. "We can't do anything at this point, but depending on how it heals plastic surgery is an option."

The doctor talked for a while longer and then excused himself. After he had left, Megan turned to the group. "I don't know about you, but I'd like to take a break and see Colby."

"I would have to second that." Rachel chimed in. She noticed Megan's sideways look and chose to ignore it.

"Alright. I think David and I should go and get cleaned up. Why don't we meet again in two hours? I'm also going to get a hold of Colby's parents."

"Sounds fine. Rachel, shall we head up?" Megan tried to keep her voice neutral.

"Sure."

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The trip to Colby's room was a quiet one. Megan felt as if she couldn't say anything without letting her emotions out. Rachel on the other hand was busy trying to rehearse what she would say to Colby.

Outside the door, Megan looked at Rachel and spoke. "I'll go in unless you want to go in first?" She was sure that Rachel would acquiesce.

"I do, thanks." Rachel went in, leaving a stunned Megan to watch the door swing shut.

Rachel approached the bed and laid her hand on the arm of the agent. His eyes opened and she could see that his eyes were slightly glazed. "Hi. I'm guessing that they've given you something for the pain."

His goofy grin spoke volumes. "I'm feeling pretty mellow right now."

She pulled up a chair and sat down. "Colby, I'm so sorry about everything. It's all my fault that you're lying here."

"Don't say that." Colby's eyes darkened. "It was my decision. I could have said no."

"I pushed you into the decision."

"Rachel, don't." Colby's voice was firm. "I would do it all over again. I don't regret my decision, so please don't you question yours."

Her eyes started to fill with tears. "Don wants to know what happened. I don't know if I can tell him. I feel so confused. I don't want you to get into trouble because you slept with me."

"Hey. What happened between us is between two consenting adults. If you don't want to tell him about this we don't have to. If you tell him, I'll deal with whatever happens." Colby reached out and wiped at her tears. "Rachel, I hope you know that I'll do what you want."

Now openly crying, Rachel lowered her head to the edge of the bed. "I don't know what I want."

"Shhh," Colby tried to comfort her. He shifted and the movement made him grunt in pain. He reached over and pushed on the button for his pain medication. A beep indicated that another dosage had been administered.

Rachel's head popped up, concerned about him. "I'm so sorry. I better go, Megan is waiting to see you."

"Rachel, I'm not going to tell Don anything about us until I hear differently from you."

She nodded, "Thank you." She turned to go to the door and she wheeled back around and moved to his bedside. "Bye Colby."

"I'll talk to you tomorrow."

Without saying a word Rachel turned back around and left the room. Once outside she leaned against the wall and took several deep breaths trying to compose herself. Her chest hitched with the effort to gain control.

Megan rose from her chair and went to Rachel's side. "Rachel? Are you alright?"

Scrubbing furiously at her eyes, Rachel shook her head. "I need to get out of here. I'm going to go talk to Don and then I want to go home."

"I know you must be exhausted. I'm sure you'll feel better in the morning."

"I just want to put all of this behind me. With Stone still on the loose I don't think I can. Plus, I look at Colby and I know I've caused his pain."

"Rachel, Colby knows, just like you do, that in this line of work we sometimes have to put ourselves in harms way."

"It's not like that. If it weren't for me he wouldn't be lying in there. I've hurt him enough and if I stay around I will only continue to hurt him. I shouldn't have pushed him into it. I wouldn't let him say no. I let myself get too close to him." Suddenly realizing she might have said too much, Rachel pulled away and hurried down the hall.

Megan didn't know what to make of Rachel's behavior. Knocking lightly on the door, Megan pushed her way in. "Hey Granger."

"Megan." Colby responded somewhat sleepily. "Did you see Rachel?"

"We talked for a while. She's really upset." Megan sat down beside him.

Colby nodded lightly and closed his eyes. He was really starting to fade. "She doesn't want Don to find out."

Puzzled by his comment, Megan sat quietly, waiting to see if he would add to his comment.

"She's worried we'll get in trouble. I told her it didn't matter." Colby's words became difficult to hear. "I could love her."

Megan remained by his side for the next hour watching him sleep. Don entering followed a light tap on the door. "How's he doing?"

"Sleeping. Did Rachel find you?"

"Yeah, we finished taking her statement. She was really anxious to get back home. Not that I can blame her after what she's been through." Don grabbed the chair from the other side of the room and pulled up next to Megan.

"What did she have to say?" Megan's mind was trying to figure out what Colby and Rachel had alluded to.

"Not much. It sounds like Stone was getting very unstable. I guess it's lucky he didn't go Jim Jones on us. I always worry about the religious fanatics that seem to see themselves as God instead of just preaching about him."

"Did she say anything about her and Colby?"

"No. Why?" Don was curious.

"Nothing really. I just know that it's real common for hostages to bond."

"She only had good things to say about our boy here. She said that when Stone wanted to beat her, Colby stepped forward and took the punishment himself."

"That sounds like Granger, always the gentleman. Any word from Harrison about the search?"

"Still nothing. I guess we'll have to wait for him to show his face again." Don stretched out his length. "Why don't you go ahead and go back to the hotel we've got. I'll hang out a while longer and make sure he's out for the night."

"A good night's sleep sounds like the perfect thing for all of us." Megan stood and rested her hand against Colby's sleeping face. "Sweet dreams."

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Rachel leaned back against the seat of the small plane. Sleep wasn't going to come easily and her mind was racing a hundred miles an hour. She hadn't told Don about what had transpired between her and Colby. Whether it was the right or wrong decision, it was how she was going to play it. "The best thing for Colby is for me to stay far away from him."

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An older model Cadillac drove along the highway. The man driving was nodding his head in agreement as he listened to the older man sitting next to him. The Prophet was telling him that God had a special plan for him and the other disciples and once they arrived at the settlement in Arizona they would set God's plan into motion.

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"Good morning sunshine." Megan breezed into the room with a smile on her face. David had been in earlier and had called to tell her that Colby was awake.

"Hi Megan." Colby's bed was slightly raised. "That coffee for me?"

She lifted the cup in acknowledgement, "Sorry buddy. I don't think you've been cleared for caffeine yet."

Colby hesitated slightly, "Have you seen Rachel this morning?"

Unsure how to proceed, Megan tried to keep it light. "I haven't seen her. Maybe Don knows. I guess you two got really close."

Looking up sharply, Colby tried to weigh Megan's comment. "Why would you think that?"

"The two of you being subjected to Stone's brand of religion, I guess I thought you would have found some common ground." Megan could tell she had accidentally hit a nerve.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that." Colby backed down a little.

Trying to restore the mood, Megan reached out and touched his arm. "It sounds like you were a real hero. I'm really glad you're back. I was getting a little worried."

Colby smiled. "You can't get rid of me that easy."

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It had been a week. He had decided to give her some time to sort out her feelings. Hell, he needed to sort out his own. Going over it in his mind he knew that some of the feelings he felt were probably misdirected. But he really felt that given a chance they might be good for each other. He didn't like the feeling that he had used her and that what they had was nothing more than a one-night stand.

Seven days and nothing from her. Fingering the number he had written on the slip of paper, he picked up his phone. Pushing in the number, he silently rehearsed what he was going to say. There was a click as the line picked up. A voice in his ear caused him to frown. "_The number you have reached is no longer in service. If you feel you've reached this message in error, please hang up and try again._" He hung up and tried again.

After the fourth try, Colby sat his phone down.

A call to her office gave similar results. "_She requested some time off and has asked that we don't give out any information._" The person answering Colby's request for information replied.

He was sitting on his deck, when there was a knock on his door. Rising slowly he made his way to it. A glance in the peephole showed a smiling Megan standing on the other side. Colby opened it and smiled back. Megan noticed that it didn't reach his eyes.

"Hi. Hope you don't mind me stopping by. I hadn't had lunch yet and decided that you might like a little company."

"Sure. Come on in." Colby stood aside and let her in.

After eating Colby went back outside after Megan insisted on cleaning up. It was after Megan had put away the leftovers that she came out and sat down next to Colby. Speaking gently she asked. "Colby. Are you doing ok?"

"Everything is fine."

"Why don't I believe you?" Megan took his hand. "I'm your friend Colby and I know when you're hurting. Rachel hinted to me that maybe you and her had gotten close."

Looking somewhat stricken Colby replied, "What did she say?"

"She didn't tell me everything, but she said enough that I was able to draw a few conclusions. Do you want to talk about it?"

Nodding his head, the words rushed from Colby like a torrent. "I told her that I wouldn't let the Prophet hurt her. She asked for my help in keeping him from wanting her. She said if she were "damaged goods" he wouldn't take her. I'm not that kind of guy Megan. I don't want her to think that I would take advantage of the situation. I guess I don't know what I thought."

Her friend looked so dejected that Megan reached out and pulled Colby into a hug. "I'm sure that she's probably feeling some of the same things." She released him and sat back, "I think if you give her a little time she will realize that."

Colby got up and walked over to the edge of the deck, looking up to the blue sky above. "How much time do you think it will take?"

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In the last four weeks she had done a lot of thinking. She had lots of time now that she had turned in her resignation. Sitting on the beach she had just wanted to get away from everything. She had picked up the phone a million times. Each time she had stopped short of dialing the whole number. She thought she knew what she was going to say, but today that had changed.

Back in the bathroom of her rented beach house was a little white stick that now showed a bright blue + sign. There was no doubt about it.


End file.
